Tour Perret Panoramic Terrace
The Tour Perret is a 110-metre reinforced-concrete tower built in 1952 by architect Auguste Perret as part of the post-war reconstruction of Amiens — and its rooftop terrace delivers the best panorama in the city, taking in the cathedral, the Hortillonnages wetlands and the flat Somme plain all the way to the horizon.
A Modernist landmark reborn
For decades the tower stood closed and unloved, but a major renovation completed in 2021 has opened the upper floors to the public for the first time. The lift whisks you to the 26th floor where a glazed observation terrace gives an unobstructed 360-degree view: the cathedral's flying buttresses at eye level to the north, the silver threads of the Somme channels to the east, and the endless agricultural plain stretching south toward Paris.
The tower itself is a listed monument — one of the finest examples of Perret's béton armé aesthetic, the same vocabulary he used for Le Havre's city centre (also UNESCO-listed). The ground floor hosts a permanent exhibition on the post-war reconstruction of Amiens, which was 60% destroyed in 1940 and again in 1944.
When to go and what to bring
The terrace is best at golden hour, roughly an hour before sunset, when the low northern light turns the cathedral's limestone a deep amber and the canal channels gleam. On very clear days you can see the hills of the Artois to the north and the Picardy plateau to the south.
The tower is located on Place Alphonse Fiquet, directly in front of Amiens-Ville station — making it the easiest possible first stop after arriving by train. Check the city tourism website (visit-amiens.com) for current opening hours as they change seasonally; admission is typically around €5.
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