Les Hortillonnages, guided traditional cornet boat tours : info and guided tour

Overview of Les Hortillonnages, guided traditional cornet boat tours

The Hortillonnages of Amiens are a vast network of market gardens and canals in the northeast of the city, accessible from the Boulevard de Beauvillé area. The guided tour in a traditional cornet boat lets visitors explore this watery landscape along the water, in a small boat designed for narrow passages and low banks.

The cornet boat is the signature way to discover the site. It glides through water channels lined with cultivated plots, dense vegetation and small footbridges, in a setting where farming, riverbank upkeep and gentle movement still coexist. The atmosphere is peaceful, yet deeply connected to human activity.

The tour highlights the distinctive layout of the Hortillonnages, made up of canals, island gardens and islets separated by water. From the boat, visitors see a landscape shaped by the work of the hortillons, with changing views of crops, riverbanks and access paths, in an atmosphere very different from central Amiens.

In Amiens, this guided walk offers a concrete way to understand the site, at once natural, agricultural and urban. It helps explain why the Hortillonnages hold such a unique place in the city, between living heritage, the presence of water and the continuity of a way of farming still visible today.

Discover Amiens with a private guide

A private guide can help you understand the Hortillonnages as a whole, explaining the canal network, the use of cornet boats and the role of this landscape in Amiens. Their insight is especially useful for connecting what you see on the water with how the site works and with its urban setting.