It is known for a few local foods, including "macarons d'Amiens", almond paste biscuits; "tuiles amienoises", chocolate and orange curved biscuits; "pâté de canard d'Amiens", duck pâté in pastry; "la ficelle Picarde", an oven-baked cheese-topped crêpe; and "flamiche aux poireaux", a puff pastry tart made with leeks and cream.

[citation needed] The Amiens citadel is built on this limestone butte of the Picard plateau and Rue Saint-Pierre is a slightly inclined path to leave the city from the north.

However, due to its position halfway between the urban areas of Lille and Paris, Amiens has good conditions for service and accessibility, including motorways (at the junction of the A16 and A29).

[10] As of 2007[update], a residential parking system has been deployed in Saint-Anne ward to cope with congestion in the streets caused by SNCF railway station users.

Former Mayor Gilles de Robien had envisioned the creation of a tram [fr], but the choice of dedicated bus lanes had been preferred for reasons of cost and patronage.

The blueprint of the bicycle facilities of the agglomeration (SDAC) provides, over a period of 10 years (2014–2024),[10] for 188 kilometres (117 mi) of cycle routes and equips 490 sites for the parking of bikes.

Two theatres were established in the neighborhood, that of the Chés Cabotans (puppet shows in the Picard language) and the Maison du Théâtre at the foot of the Saint-Leu Church.

Located to the west of the Citadelle, and east of the La Madeleine Cemetery [fr], this very old working-class neighborhood of Amiens acted as an industrial center in the 18th century.

Amiens, like other big cities, has its large HLM high-rise tower blocks: These areas experience a lot of social troubles and have regularly been the place for riots.

This health space of 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft) will host general practitioners and specialists of the CHU such as: cardiologist, a service of gynaecology-obstetrics, psychologists, dentist, and masseurs-physiotherapists.

These care and hospitalisation institutions for medical, surgical, and obstetrics came together to create a private hospital center in the Vallée des Vignes neighborhood, south of the city.

In 2005, the CHU of Amiens became of international renown thanks to Professor Bernard Devauchelle, a native of the city, where his team performed the first partial face transplant in the world.

[52] Thanks to a large proportion of youth in its population and the dynamism and the success of its sports clubs, Amiens has been awarded the title of "Sportiest city of France" [fr] by the L'Équipe newspaper in 1999.

From August 29 to September 1, 2012, the Compagnie d'Arc d'Amiens organizes the French FITA Archery Championships at the Hippodrome du petit Saint-Jean [fr].

[26] Philatelic publishers Yvert et Tellier (catalogues of quotes) and l'Écho de la timbrologie (magazine) have their management in Amiens, even if they have more of their services in the Paris region.

Amiens Cathedral is notable for the coherence of its plan, the beauty of its three-tier interior elevation, the particularly fine display of sculptures on the principal façade and in the south transept, and inlays of its floor.

A show of the reproduction of the original polychromy[77] of façades, discovered as a result of recent laser cleaning, is given annually for free in December and during the summer period.

The circus was the setting for Federico Fellini's The Clowns (1971), and the film by Jean-Jacques Beineix, Roselyne et les lions (1989), with Isabelle Pasco as lead actress.

The largest of the circuses of the province with its 3,000-seats, the building has acquired a multidisciplinary use for decades of performances of theatre, dance, concerts, galas, sports and public meetings.

Restored in 2006, thanks to the work of the Centre international Jules-Verne [fr], this 19th-century mansion, registered as a national heritage site, traces through the exhibition of more than 700 objects, the personality, the sources of inspiration and memories of Jules Verne.

It is the upstream port, located at the foot of the cathedral, where a weekly market is held on the water, although the arrival the growers by boat can only be accomplished once a year, in summer.

Open to all, they offer an eclectic programme; theatre and concerts, shows for young people and dance, projections of films, exhibitions, meetings and debates.

Even if it rarely achieves national notoriety (with the notable exceptions of Les Fatals Picards, The Rabeats [fr], Olympe, Albin de la Simone, Disiz and Rokia Traoré), the Amiens music scene is active and developed.

[157] The city has the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional d'Amiens [fr], seat of strong musical activity (framed by 70 teachers, an administrative and technical team with an additional 20 people).

In 1750, Jean Baptiste Gresset, a playwright and poet who was celebrated in his time and was a member of the Académie française, founded the Academy of Amiens [fr] which is still active today.

In the novel Une fantaisie du docteur Ox, the inhabitants of the fictional town of Virgamen, the Virgamenois, refer directly to the Amiénois and their prudent nature.

Though capable of obtaining the Prix Goncourt, it was beaten by À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs [fr] by Marcel Proust, 6 votes against 4.

[161] In 1926, the Amiens native Henri Deberly, won the Prix Goncourt with Le Supplice de Phèdre [fr], a novel inspired by his home city.

[165] The city was also the birthplace or home of big names in the comic strip universe, such as the Amiens native Joseph Pinchon, creator of the character of Bécassine; Paul Gillon, winner of the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême and also Philippe Thirault [fr].

[169] Here are some of the specialities:[170] Amiens is known for a few local foods, including "macarons d'Amiens", small, round-shaped biscuit-type macaroons made from almond paste, fruit and honey, which were first recorded in 1855;[171] "tuiles amienoises" [fr], chocolate and orange curved "tuiles" or biscuits; Pâté de canard d'Amiens [fr] – duck pâté in pastry, made since the 17th century;[172] and "la ficelle Picarde", an oven-baked cheese-topped crêpe with ham and mushroom filling,[168][173] then topped with fresh cream flavoured with nutmeg, white pepper, and sprinkled with grated cheese before being browned in the oven.