Amiens, France

AMIENS was badly scarred during both world wars, but restored sensitively afterwards. The cathedral is the main reason to visit, but St-Leu, the renovated medieval artisans' quarter north of the cathedral with its network of canals, has considerable charm, while a few-minutes' walk from the train station the hortillonnages transport you into a peaceful rural landscape. Amiens has an unmistakably northern feel; some parts of the city look rather Flemish, while the redbrick nineteenth-century workers' houses beyond the centre are reminiscent of the English Midlands and North. The student presence ensures there's enough life in the evening to make an overnight stay worthwhile.