The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens

Today I am here to talk to you all about a fantastic place in a magnificent city, or rather a place with lots of charm: the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens, which is more commonly known as Amiens Cathedral.

Before I start, I would like to invite you all to take a look at one of my earlier Erasmus in Amiens blog posts so that you have an idea of what the city is like and where exactly the cathedral is located.

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens is located in Amiens (obviously), a city in the north of France, in the region of Somme, intersected by the River Somme.

Amiens was my destination city when I did my Erasmus exchange and, since then, this city has formed a substantial part of my life thus far; this is not only thanks to all the people that I met there and the experiences that I had the opportunity to live for myself, but also the city itself. It is honestly a wonder for all tastes and senses, and once you have visited the city and left, the only thing that you will wish for is to be able to go back again.

Well, before we get down to the nitty gritty, I should tell you that Amiens Cathedral is both the tallest and biggest cathedral in the whole of France, and, in my opinion, the most beautiful and grandiose of them all.

The cathedral is of Gothic style, which is something that you can arguably notice very easily from the sculpting of the cathedral's exterior facades and from the stained glass windows and sculptures found inside the building itself.

The cathedral is 42 metres tall and 145 metres long. The construction of the cathedral began in the year 1220 and was based on a Romanesque architectural style, which, due to a fire, ended up being reconstructed once again. However, this time, the cathedral was constructed in a Gothic style, with works not finishing until 1401, given that it was being built in various different stages.

In my opinion, this cathedral is one of the best representations of Gothic art (architecturally speaking) in the whole world.

For those of you who like the Gothic art scene, you will love this gem of a cathedral and go absolutely crazy for it.

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As you can see in the photos, its magnitude is just incredible, and once you find yourself standing in front of the cathedral, you will be left breathless.

You can see the cathedral at a distance from any point in the city, and that doesn't surprise me at all given how big it is!

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I remember that, irrespective of where you looked, the cathedral was always there. And that is not something that would bother me, in fact, it is the absolute opposite. Whenever I found myself with the cathedral looking at me from a distance, I would just stop for a few minutes to take it in and admire how beautiful it is.

It sounds a little bit stupid, but I am just left speechless when I think about the cathedral and how truly beautiful it is.

I have seen other cathedrals (like the one in Paris, for example) and believe me, Amiens Cathedral runs rings around it. I don't know why people always think that the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is the most spectacular of them all... I am always just left thinking, "sorry, what? Have you not seen the cathedral in Amiens? " If you have the opportunity to go and see it, remember me telling you this and you can thank me later.

The student residence that I was living in at the time (Saint Leu) had some incredible views of the cathedral. I was enormously lucky to have been allocated a room that had cathedral-facing windows and not ones facing in the other direction because the Faculty of Sciences was the only thing on that side of the building. Obviously, having a view of this building is not at all a bad thing, but it is considerably better to wake up to some of the best views of the city.

You can also see the cathedral from Parc Saint-Pierre.

One thing that I loved to do when I was in Amiens was go to Parc Saint-Pierre and enjoy the views of the cathedral from the other side of the lake.

Simply incredible. I especially liked to stay until after sunset to see the sun hide behind the cathedral. This is a picture that remains engrained in your mind forever.

Well, now getting back to the cathedral's architecture, the main facade has three doors, each of different sizes. The central door represents the Last Judgement with a depiction of Jesus in the middle and with the Twelve Apostles surrounding, six on either side.

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Something that I love abut the cathedral (amongst many other things) is precisely this very facade.

Almost like it's a minimum requirement - all of the facade is so incredibly detailed, and each part of it relates to a different passage of the Bible - from both the Old and the New Testaments.

There is one part that I find rather amusing - the Apostles are holding their heads in their hands whilst they are on top of people and are about to squash them with the sheer weight of their bodies. I find it funny, yet also somewhat disturbing at the same time.

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I am sorry if I am repeating myself, but the entire cathedral honestly has such an exquisiteness about it in terms of its amazing detailing, which you could easily spend hours carefully looking at from several different angles, and, even then, you will always find something different that you won't have spotted the first time.

An interesting fact about the cathedral is that, aside from it previously being a Romanesque cathedral that was destroyed by a fire, the towers were built almost more than one hundred years after the rest of the structure.

The structure of the cathedral was built with the shape of a Latin cross, which means that one part is larger than the other - like the cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on, for example.

Another interesting fact about this cathedral, and another reason why I love it, is that the main facade was previously polychromic; in other words, it was painted in several different colours.

It wasn't until 1990 that the aforementioned nugget of information was discovered, and this was thanks to the cleaning and restoration works being carried out at the cathedral.

Ever since it was discovered that the facade was once painted, a system of lights started to be projected onto the facade to recreate how the cathedral previously was before the colours were painted over.

The light projections only take place during summer nights and at Christmas, starting at around 9pm. The light show is accompanied by music, which you get completely wrapped up in, making you forget about everything that surrounds you. Without a doubt, it is an experience that you will never ever forget.

This light show is a show alright (pardon the repetition). It lasts for 30 minutes more or less, if I remember correctly, and it takes place every single day from June 15th until the third Sunday in September. The times are as follows:

• June: 10:45pm
• July: 10:30pm
• August: 10pm
• September: 9:45pm

If you miss the show during these dates, you will have another opportunity to see it on Christmas Day. So, make sure that you don't miss out!

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In 1981, Amiens Cathedral was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It doesn't surprise me because you only need to see it once to know that it is an unrivalled work of art.

Inside the cathedral, we can see the huge passageway in the shape of a Latin cross and its beautiful and sophisticated stained glass windows, which represent the Old Testament and the Gospel, just like the rest of the sculptures found within the cathedral. Besides, these depictions are not limited solely to Bible passages, but they also represent the daily lives and the customs of the people who lived in the sixteenth century.

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The floor of the cathedral is also very interesting. So, when you enter the building, as moving as the stained glass windows and sculptures may be, take a look down at your feet... it's truly worth doing so.

The cathedral floor is exquisitely decorated with geometric patterns, and in the centre of the design, there is a maze.

The maze is 234 metres long, which forms an octagon using a zigzag path. It is said that if you cover the length of it entirely on your knees, it's as if you were doing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and while you pray, you are cleansed of all your sins.

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In my opinion, I don't think the length of it is sufficient enough to "replace" a real pilgrimage to the Holy Land... but, whatever, everyone can interpret it in whatever way they want. The important thing is that it is both beautiful and hypnotising.

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Finally, I have to talk to you about the towers.

The only "aim" that the towers have (aside from literally holding up the bells in the bell tower) is support the stone vault as if it was a buttress, pulling it forwards towards the facade so that it doesn't collapse.

Something that very few people know is that you can climb up to the very top of the towers for free (if you are a student or under 25 years of age).

Mind you, this climb requires patience and you have to be in good physical health because you have to walk up lots, in fact, absolutely loads of stairs. But, like everything in life that requires a little bit of effort on your end, you get your just deserts; the views that you are met with once you reach the very top will leave you speechless.

The towers are of different heights: one is bigger than the other, and so on and so forth. Obviously, it took more time to build the tallest tower than it did to build the smallest one (it sounds a little bit basic to be explaining here, but there are some people who think that they were built at the same time.

Another strange little fact that I have for you is that the area in front of the cathedral is the spot where the wind blows the strongest in the whole of Amiens. Personally, I think that this is thanks to the electricity that runs through the streets that lead to the cathedral, or perhaps a divine power (believe whatever you want to believe). But, if it is windy and you are stood just in front of the cathedral, you are going to go flying.

Well, I don't think that there is anything else left to add. I simply invite you all to go and see this magnificent cathedral for yourselves if the opportunity comes your way.

For those of you who are going to Paris or to Lille, or any other city in the Somme region for that matter, it wouldn't at all hurt to catch a train or take a Blablacar to Amiens and spend a day there. That way, you will be able to see all of this fantastic and picturesque city - you have absolutely nothing to lose!