Unspoilt natural environments
in France
With about the same population as the United Kingdom, but twice the
surface area, France
is a big country; and it is a country where the countryside is big. On
the other hand, as an old country, where humans have worked the land
for over two thousand years, it is a country where much of the
"natural" environment has been shaped - for better or worse - by the
hand of man. There is little in the way of genuine "wilderness area" in
France, such as one can find in the USA or Canada; but that is not to say
that there is no such thing as "wild France". There are plenty of parts
of this large country which remain, to this day, relatively wild and
untamed, and a destination worth seeking out by nature lovers, ramblers
and adepts of the "great outdoors".
For anyone wishing to escape from city life and
find rural peace and quite, almost any part of
rural France will fit the bill; but there are areas of France that are
more deeply rural, and less populated than others. In particular, there
is a large swathe of France, running from the Belgian border in the
north east, to the Pyrenees in the south west, that is unofficially
known as la diagonale du
vide (the diagonal of emptiness), which contains many of
the least populated areas of France (other than high mountain areas),
plenty of wide open spaces, and ample opportunity for hiking, rambling and outdoor activities. This diagonal can be seen on the map
opposite.
North-east
France
In the northeast, the area includes the Ardennes hills, with
their forests, and the open spaces of the Champagne and
Lorraine
regions, rolling farming country that has seen considerable rural
depopulation over the last hundred years. In the northern part of Burgundy,
between Paris and Dijon, lie the Morvan
hills, quite forested in parts, and peaking at over 2,000 ft. The
Morvan is a popular area with weekend hikers, on account of its easy
access from Paris.
Central
southern France
 The
southern-central bulge in the "diagonal" is the area of the Massif Central
mountains, which include some of the emptiest parts of France. The
Massif Central includes most of the regions of Auvergne
and Limousin,
as well as the north of the Midi-Pyrénées
region, and the north of the Languedoc
region, and the west of the Rhone-Alpes
region. Many long-distance hiking paths cross these hills, passing
through some pretty wild and desolate areas, such as the barren
limestone Causses
in the south (in the departments of Lozère
and Aveyron),
the granite Aubrac
in the middle (Aveyron and Cantal
departments), and the Chaîne des Puys ( volcanic uplands running
through the Puy-de-Dome,
Cantal, Haute-Loire
and Ardèche
departments: see photo). This is the part of France for lovers of wild
wide open spaces. A very sparsely populated area is crossed by the A 75
Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier motorway, which runs for over 100 miles
at an average altitude of over 800 metres, with three peaks at over
1100m (about 3,500 ft).
South of
Toulouse
South of Toulouse, the rolling countryside of Gascony slowly rises
up to meet the foothills of the Pyrenees,
then the high Pyrenees themselves. The Pyrenean foothills are wooded
with steep valleys, and offer plenty of opportunities for rambling and
hiking. The high Pyrenees, which culminate at over 3,000 metres, offer
classic high-mountain terrain, and plenty of tracks, including some
recommended only for experienced mountaineers.
Alps and
Jura
To the east of the Rhone valley (a line running
from Lyon to Marseilles), lies the other great natural area of France,
the French Alps
and their foothills (the Vercors,
the Bugey).
This zone offers plenty of very attractive mountain scenery, ranging
from the dry terrain of the Verdon area of Provence,
to the eternal snows of Mont Blanc. Many areas of the Alps have been
heavily developed for winter sports, but away from the ski
resorts,there are many hundreds of square kilometres of untamed hill
and mountain, well equipped with marked hiking trails, linking valley
to valley, or village to village.
North of the Alps, running up the
northern side of the border with Switzerland, the Jura mountains in
the Franche Comté
region offer another large mountainous area. The high Jura is
characterised by spruce forests and meadows, as well as lakes and
streams and plenty of hiking facilities.
Wildlife:
The sparsely populated areas of France are rich in wildlife, but
paradoxically it is often less visible than in suburban areas of
Britain, since wildlife in wild France tends to be wary of humans. In
the lower lying areas, wild boar, foxes, deer, rabbits and hares can
often be seen by patient observers; in the higher areas, notably though
not only in the Alps, there may also be marmots, chamois and mountain
goats (bouquetins), and even lynx. Wolves have been reintroduced in the
high Alps, and it is said that some have now managed to cross to the
east of the Rhone, and have been seen in the Massif Central. There are
a few bears in the Pyrenees, but they are very rarely seen.
Most of wild France is rich in birds of
prey, notably buzzards and kites; but generally speaking France's
sparsely-inhabited upland areas are home to many more raptors,
including several different types of eagle, and massive griffon
vultures (photo) that have been reintroduced in the Alps and southern Massif
Central (Tarn gorge area).
This is only a very rough guide to the
wildlife of wild France, which is remarkably rich and diverse.
Protected
Areas, national parks, regional natural parks
The areas described above include most of France's
(few) national parks (in the high Alps, the Cévennes and the Pyrenees),
plus a large number of "Parcs naturels régionaux" (a phrase which is
often mistranslated into English as "national parks"). There is no
fundamental reason why some areas should be designated national parks,
and others regional natural parks.
The map on the left shows the location of the
main natural parks (green) and national parks (purple). These include
the parks of Lorraine, the Morvan, the Chaîne des Puys, the
Forez-Livradois, Millevaches en Limousin, Monts d'Ardèche, Grandes
Causses, Luberon, Vercors, Haut-Jura, and others. Many areas not
included officially in "parks" are protected areas under the EU Natura
2000 natural heritage programme.
Click here for information and a map of
France's long-distance footpaths
Click here for information on camping in France
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