Gîtes and Villas in Picardy

Picardy sits just north of Paris, a quietly rewarding region that many British holidaymakers drive straight through on their way south. That's their loss. This is a landscape of rolling farmland, compact market towns, and reminders of both medieval grandeur and twentieth-century conflict. It's accessible enough for a long weekend yet still feels properly French — the sort of place where the boulangerie closes for lunch and the weekly market is a social fixture.

Self-catering here suits families after space and calm, couples exploring the Somme battlefields, or anyone wanting a base between the Channel and Paris without the capital's price tag. The countryside is gentle rather than dramatic, but there's enough variety — nature reserves, adventure parks, small museums — to fill a fortnight without rushing.

About Picardy

Picardy's character is agricultural and unshowy. This was once a frontier region, caught between French and Burgundian interests in the Middle Ages, then devastated during the First World War. The Somme valley still draws thousands of visitors each year to its cemeteries and memorials, but beyond that sombre heritage there's a working countryside of wheat fields, poplar-lined roads, and red-brick villages.

The towns are functional rather than picturesque — places where you buy groceries, visit the pharmacy, and eat Friday-night pizza at the local brasserie. Amiens, the regional capital, has a magnificent Gothic cathedral and a network of floating market gardens called the hortillonnages, but much of Picardy is resolutely rural. That's part of the appeal: you're not competing with coachloads of tourists, and the pace is genuinely slow.

Staying in a gîte here means having room to spread out, often with a garden and proper kitchen. You'll shop at the hypermarket or the weekly market, cook what you've bought, and plan day trips without fighting traffic. It's the France of school-run French lessons — recognisable, navigable, and pleasantly ordinary once you're off the A1.

Things to do in Picardy

For families, Grounds D'aventure offers treetop adventure courses, laser games, and archery in a forest setting — popular with French families and well-reviewed. Waterhole Ailly-sur-Noye is another active option with outdoor pursuits and water-based fun. If you prefer something quieter, Breath of the Earth is a striking land-art installation and nature walk that's become a minor pilgrimage for visitors who value open-air sculpture and contemplative landscapes.

History comes in digestible doses. The Archaeological Museum of the Oise covers local finds from prehistory to the Gallo-Roman period, while the Musée Franco-Australien tells the story of Australian soldiers in Picardy during the Great War — smaller and more personal than the big Somme memorials. The Jules Verne Cultural Center celebrates the writer's connections to Amiens with exhibitions and events. For a peaceful hour, Moulin Ventin Garden is a beautifully kept private garden open to visitors, and the Réserve Naturelle nationale de l'étang Saint-Ladre protects wetland habitats worth a short walk if you're a birdwatcher.

Food & drink

Picardy's food is northern French — hearty, butter-based, with a Flemish tinge near the border. Ficelle Picarde is the regional signature: a savoury crêpe stuffed with ham, mushrooms, and cream, then baked with cheese. You'll find it on bistro menus and sometimes prepared at charcuteries for reheating at home. Maroilles cheese, pungent and washed-rind, turns up in tarts and gratins.

Markets are the best place to shop: look for seasonal vegetables, free-range chicken, and proper butter. The hypermarkets — Carrefour, E.Leclerc — are functional and cheap, stocking everything you need for self-catering. There are no Michelin-starred temples here, but honest cooking in family-run restaurants, especially around Amiens. Beer is as common as wine; local breweries produce blonde and amber ales worth trying. If you're driving back north, the motorway rest stops are decent enough for a coffee, but pack a picnic if you want better.

Getting there

Picardy is 77 kilometres from Paris Charles de Gaulle, making it one of the easiest French regions to reach from the UK. Fly into CDG, pick up a hire car, and you're in rural France within the hour. Eurostar passengers arrive at Paris Gare du Nord, 92 kilometres south; you can either hire a car there or take a TGV north to Amiens. If you're driving, it's 132 kilometres from Calais via the A16 and A1 — a straightforward two-hour run once you're off the ferry or through the Eurotunnel.

This proximity is Picardy's greatest practical advantage: you can leave London mid-morning and be unpacking groceries in your gîte by early evening. Paris Orly is another option at 109 kilometres, though CDG is better connected to the north. Most visitors drive; the motorway network is fast and toll roads are clearly signed.