BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Built on the Somme, at the confluence of that river with its tributaries, the Avre and the Selle, and at the junction of nine different railways, Amiens is divided, topographically, into three parts.
To the south, is the higher or new town, bounded by two lines of boulevards planted with fine chestnut and linden trees, and occupying the site of the ancient ramparts. Between this double belt, rise the suburbs of Noyon, Henri-Ville, and Beauvais, with their straight streets, handsome mansions, and brick-built residences.
In the centre, extending as far as the river Somme, is the business part of the town, containing the shops, public buildings, and ancient monuments.
On the right bank, from the Somme to the lateral canal, which describes a large semi-circle between the “ports d’Amont et d’Aval,” lies old Amiens or the lower town, with its narrow winding streets, wooden houses, workshops and factories, situated between the many arms of the river.
This quarter is dominated by the ancient citadel, and prolonged by the new suburbs of St. Maurice and St. Pierre, where the working population of the spinning mills and factories lives.