Art Deco in Amiens

Art Deco in Amiens

Amiens possesses a rich Art Deco heritage, inherited from the reconstruction of the town after the First World War. The Amiens audio-guided tour stops here to evoke these geometric and elegant façades that mark the town, witnesses of a major page of its architectural history.

The heritage of the reconstruction

Amiens is one of the great towns of Art Deco heritage in France, a heritage often little known but well present in its streets. This richness is explained by the painful history of the town: located in a region hardly struck by the First World War, Amiens underwent important destructions, and numerous districts had to be rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s. This reconstruction coincided with the apogee of Art Deco, this elegant and modern style that succeeded Art Nouveau, characterised by its geometric lines, its sober forms, its stylised motifs and its taste for the sober and refined decor. The architects thus rebuilt numerous buildings, façades, shops and public buildings in this style, endowing Amiens with a coherent and remarkable ensemble. Raising the eyes over the streets of the centre, you discover these fine façades with ornate balconies, elegant ironworks, mosaics, stained-glass windows and typical ornaments. This heritage, completed by the Perret Tower, makes of Amiens a true town of the architecture of the twentieth century. A remarkable heritage and a heritage of the reconstruction, Art Deco in Amiens is a fine facet of the discovery of the town.

What to see

Here you discover the rich Art Deco heritage of Amiens, inherited from the reconstruction of the 1920s and 1930s after the destructions of the First World War: numerous façades, buildings and shops of the centre display the geometric lines, the ornate balconies, the ironworks, mosaics and stained-glass windows of this elegant and modern style, completed by the Perret Tower. Art Deco makes of Amiens a town of the architecture of the twentieth century. It is a fine facet, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Art Deco heritage of Amiens is discovered over the streets of the centre, reachable on foot. These façades and buildings are freely visible from the street. You discover them by strolling and raising the eyes; thematic itineraries may be offered by the tourist office.

Why does Amiens possess a rich Art Deco heritage?

Because the town, hardly struck by the First World War, had to rebuild numerous districts in the 1920s and 1930s, a period that coincided with the apogee of Art Deco; the architects thus rebuilt buildings, façades and shops in this style with geometric lines, endowing Amiens with a coherent ensemble completed by the Perret Tower.

Where to see Art Deco in Amiens?

Over the streets of the centre of Amiens, in France.