With costumed market gardeners bringing produce to town by boat, Amiens’ annual ‘Marché sur l’Eau’ tops the list of traditional events in France in automn.
All over France, you could be forgiven for thinking there’s a typical market around every corner, but there’s a unique one in Amiens – close to the A16 between Calais and Paris ‒ where the ceremonial arrival of the local produce to market is every bit as important as the sale itself. Every third Sunday of June, Amiens’ ‘Marché sur l’Eau’ ‒ quite literally a market on the water ‒ sees the growers from the famous Hortillonnages market gardens faithfully donning the dress of their predecessors (think tied bonnets, gingham shawls, long skirts) and sailing their glut of fruit and vegetables downriver in pencil-thin wooden boats, to awaiting crowds on the quayside in the Saint-Leu district. People from all over Northern France come to witness not just a scene of great pride (market-men punt as womenfolk wave and hold up bouquets of radishes, cabbages like bowling-balls, bountiful flowers and the ripest of summer fruits) – but for the ambiance too: the market gardeners love to make the locals laugh with the old Picardy dialect in full flow.
Yet this is no gimmick; people come for the quality and authenticity too. Once docked, helping hands from the throng help to haul both the gardeners and their wooden crates of fresh local produce to the tree-lined quayside before swooping to fill their baskets – all is seemingly sold in the blink of an eye!
Useful information
Tourist Board Information of Amiens
23 Place Notre Dame
F-80000 Amiens
Tel: +33 3 22 71 60 50
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