The city of Amiens, France, dates to pre-Roman times, having been an important  trading center throughout history due its accessibility via the river Somme, and was recognized by the King of France in 1185. The great cathedral, completed around 1247, is the tallest of the large classic Gothic churches and a designated World Heritage Site.

Amiens had been continually under siege since Roman times, and most recently sustained heavy bombing in both WWI and WWII. Since the early 1950s it has seen restoration and rebuilding to replace many of its historic structures. The cathedral miraculously escaped heavy damage, with just one of its main towers requiring heavy restorations.

The cathedral, as well as nearby battlefields of Northern France, make Amiens a tourist mecca and in recent years its streets and sidewalks have undergone major rethinking and reconstruction by the metropolitan planning commission, with pedestrians in mind.

Among the most noticeable features of the streetscape are the ways in which cars coexist with people. In various ways, the cobbled streets are delineated by bollards of uniquely different designs or strips of beveled granite paving, punctuated by drains that catch runoff from the frequent downpours. Here are a few examples;