🇫🇷 Amiens | Where Wings Shelter and Peace Resides

The name "Amiens" first drew me in—poetically translated as "" (sheltering wings) and (tranquility). Then I discovered its other charms: Jules Verne's hometown, and the shared origin of Macron & macarons. 🌫️ A Solitary Journey Begins Arrived on a fog-cloaked morning, just 120km north of Paris. Amiens sits at the heart of Europe—midway between Paris, London, and Brussels. Crisper air, thicker mist, and safer streets than Paris. As locals say: "Close enough to Paris to share its culture, but spared from its chaos." 🏙️ First Encounters 🗼 Tour Perret France’s first skyscraper (and once Europe’s tallest), looming outside the station. 📚 Jules Verne’s House As whimsical as his novels: A spiral staircase ascending from elegance to fantasy. An attic mimicking the Saint-Michel III airship! Bedroom walls adorned with Around the World in 80 Days routes. A miniature submarine in the parlor. His grave (Cimetière de La Madeleine): Sculptor Albert Roze’s "To Immortality and Eternal Youth" statue stands guard. 🖼️ Quiet Magic 🏛️ Picardy Museum Empty halls let me stumble upon art freely—no FOMO, just joy in discovery. 🎨 Saint-Leu District Rainbow-colored houses along the Somme River. L’Homme sur sa bouée: A lonely statue students knit scarves for in winter. ⚔️ The Ghosts of War Searched for WWI traces... but found only silence. Perhaps the city’s present peace is its greatest memorial to the battles that scarred it. 🍫 Sweet Epilogue A macaron shop (Brigitte Macron’s family business) — "mediocre but meme-worthy." #Amiens #JulesVerne #HiddenFrance #SlowTravel #LiteraryPilgrimage 🇫🇷📖