Château de Picquigny

Erected centuries ago on the heights of the Somme Valley, the remains of Picquigny castle remain picturesque and imposing. To fully appreciate the castle's past grandeur, climb up to the barbican gate. This gate was once a drawbridge. The high, impressive façade of the main building on your right is remarkable. Then take the time to walk along the fortifications to the Porte du Gard, the Renaissance-style Pavillon Sévigné and the collegiate church, which is open in summer.


For the record, this pavilion was named in honor of Madame de Sévigné, the woman of letters who spent four days at Château de Picquigny in April 1689. In a letter to her daughter, Mme de Sévigné compared the château to that of Grignan and evoked the Somme: "We came here to a château where all the pride of the Picquigny heiress is on display. It's an old building raised above the town, as in Grignan; a perfectly fine chapter, as in Grignan; a dean, twelve canons; I don't know if the foundation is as fine, but these are terraces on the Somme river, which makes a hundred turns in the meadows, that's what's not in Grignan.