Hortillonnages d'Amiens, Floating garden network in Amiens, France.
The Hortillonnages d'Amiens is a network of roughly 300 hectares of small islands separated by about 65 kilometers of narrow canals running through the city center. The waterways allow flat-bottomed boats to move between the garden plots and connect them to the rest of the city.
These marshlands were converted into farm plots during the Middle Ages to grow vegetables for the growing population. The water system has endured for centuries and continues to define how this part of the city works.
Gardeners navigate the waterways in flat-bottomed boats as if tending fields on land, with these shallow vessels serving as traditional transport between plots. This method of moving fresh produce directly by water shapes how locals still understand and experience these spaces.
The gardens are accessible to visitors from March through October, mainly via guided electric boat tours that follow the main water channels. The private garden plots themselves cannot be entered, but the tours give a good overview of the entire layout.
Around seven professional gardeners together maintain 36 hectares of these water gardens using cultivation methods that have barely changed over hundreds of years. This small group keeps a living craft alive in the heart of a modern city.
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