ABBEVILLE lies about halfway from Calais to Paris and makes a convenient stop-off on the N1. Until hit by a German air raid in May 1940, it was also a very beautiful town. Nowadays, all that remain of its former glories are a superbly ornate Flemish-style gare SNCF; a belfry, reputedly the oldest in France; and the Gothic church of St-Vulfran, which was on a par with the cathedrals at Amiens and Beauvais. Restoration work on the church, which was badly scarred during the war, only finished in 1993. The western facade still bears superficial scars but the interior pillars have been replaced with exact copies and the keystones painted with their original colours. Also worth a visit is the eighteenth-century Château de Bagatelle, 2km south of town – not to be confused with the nearby amusement park of the same name – set in ten hectares of parkland (guided visits July & Aug daily except Tues 2–6pm; €8). When the Château is closed you can sometimes visit the gardens (mid-May to mid-July & September to mid-October Mon–Fri 2–4.30pm, mid-July to August daily except Tues 2–6pm; €4), famed for their elaborate topiaries and rare species of tree.The tourist office is at 1 place de l'Amiral-Courbet (tel 03.22.24.27.92) and organizes guided visits to the church of St-Vulfran. If you're looking for somewhere to stay, a comfortable option, with a nice restaurant, is the Hôtel de France, in place du Pilori in the town centre (tel 03.22.24.00.42, fax 03.22.24.26.15; €55–70; menus from €16. If you just want a meal then L'Escale en Picardie, at 15 rue des Teinturiers (tel 03.22.24.21.51; menus from €20) is highly commendable, and specializes in fresh fish with crisp white wines.
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