Brilliant fields as far as the eye can see, amazing forests, picnics by the pond, and fresh farm products are just a few reminders that you’ve stepped into the countryside! For visitors looking to spend a week or more in the villages, we introduce some of Decouvertes’ top country destinations in France, all easily accessible by train.
Amboise, The Loire Valley
The royal city of Amboise sits on the banks of the Loire and is overlooked by its royal castle, it is ideally located to discover the Valley of the Castles.
Royal Castle – IMG SRC:
Visitors would be able to explore the Clos Lucé, known as the castle of Leonardo da Vinci, who lived there for 3 years, and the Château Gaillard, with its sumptuous gardens, the first of the Renaissance, designed by an Italian monk.
Clos Lucé
Chartres, In Eure-et-Loir
Next is a visit to Chartres, in Eure-et-Loir, a small medieval city full of charm with its gothic cathedral, one of the largest in France, but also its historic center, its small stone bridges, and its pretty half-timbered houses.
Gothic Cathedral of Chartres
The Eure River crosses the city, and visitors would love a moment to walk on its banks, taking breaks to deep their feet in the water.
Pedestrian Bridge in Chartres
The surrounding countryside is very beautiful, with a mix of fields and forests. It’s easy to get immersed in the outdoors with activities like hiking or biking, or simply by taking a walk on the many paths, and of course not forgetting a visit to the magnificent Maintenon castle. From Chartres, the greenway also takes visitors on the bicycle route La Véloscénie, which reaches the Mont-St-Michel.
La Véloscénie
Najac, in Aveyron
In the Aveyron gorges, the site of the village of Najac is easily visited by train from Toulouse. It is surrounded by forest and perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the valley offering a grandiose setting. Classified among the most beautiful French villages, it is also a true masterpiece of the Middle Ages.
Najac
The village stretches along a single street with the fortress built in the middle of the 13th century by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint-Louis. The Templars were locked up in an underground dungeon after their arrest in 1307.
Pérouges, In the mountains of Bugey
About 30 minutes by TER from Lyon Part-Dieu station, the magnificent medieval city of Pérouges has remained intact in its historical setting. The village overlooks the plain and the surrounding marshes, with the Bugey mountains nearby and the Alps in the distance.
View of the Bugey mountains
Come and stroll along the charming cobbled streets, admire the half-timbered houses and taste the local specialty: the sugar pie. An ideal getaway to take a step back in time!
Pérouges
It is also the starting point for beautiful escapes, to the northwest, towards the Dombes region and its thousand ponds, where visitors will observe more than a hundred different species of birds, attracted by the tranquility of the water bodies and the richness of the surrounding natural environment.
Nièvre, Burgundy
Heading for Burgundy, east of Bourges, in Nièvre. This is one of the best nature spots to calm down and relax. We recommend a trip to include visits to charming little villages like Corbigny, Clamecy or Beuvron, with their little streams, their flowers and their bucolic wash houses.
Nièvre
A few things visitors should try are trips on an electric boat on the Nivernais canal, discovering the “Little Amazon”, a picnic on the waterfront with local specialties, and canoeing, or paddling on the Baye pond, amongst others.
Electric boat on the Nivernais canal
Our top recommendation for exploring this region is to come by train and rent a bike on the spot. This is a perfect solution because the distances are short to reach the villages and the small roads are pleasant to cycle along.
Belvès, In Dordogne
This Belvès trip is great for many reasons. For one, it’s classified as the most beautiful village in France. Besieged during the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of Religion, the “city of seven steeples” (cité aux sept clochers) has miraculously preserved its vestiges.
Belvès, In Dordogne
The underground troglodyte dwellings inhabited since the 13th century, a 500-year-old wooden market hall, and Renaissance-style mansions make it worth a trip.
Cave dwellings of Belvès
Visitors would find the forest of Bessède at the gates of the city to be an ideal playground for hikers and mountain bikers who wish to venture into the Périgord Noir. We also recommend they take time to see nearby Montpazier and Sarlat.
Forest of Bessède Hike and bike routes
Eguisheim, In Alsace
Eguisheim is the typical Alsatian village and would give visitors a taste of everything: houses with pointed roofs, richly decorated with flowers, paved streets, half-timbered facades, etc. This village is located on the Alsace wine road, about ten kilometers south of Colmar, it winds in concentric circles around its castle, like a labyrinth.
Eguisheim
After having followed the signposted tourist route, which goes around the town in about 30 minutes, we advise a visit to the central square where the castle of the Counts of Eguisheim, the chapel, and the fountain surmounted by the statue of Pope Leo IX are located.
Pope St. Leon IX’s castle
Saint-Jean Pied de Port, Basque Country
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is in the Basque hinterland, linked to the Atlantic coast by the TER. Surrounded by pink sandstone ramparts, the medieval city of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port brings in some personality with its paved streets lined with old houses, its old bridge over the Nive river, its picturesque facades on the waterfront, its sentry walk and its imposing citadel reworked by Vauban, whose silhouette dominates the roofs of the city.
Saint-Jean Pied de Port
This Basque village, labeled “most beautiful village in France”, was part of the kingdom of Navarre and is an essential stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. We recommend that a visit should include a climb to the citadel to admire a magnificent panorama of the green Basque country.
Panorama of the green Basque country
Turenne, In Corrèze
Turenne, classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France and located south of Brive, not far from the Dordogne, bears the name of a powerful viscounty that ruled over the Limousin, the Périgord, and the Quercy for ten centuries. Recognizable by its limestone keep and its slate roofs, the village constituted until the 18th century a powerful viscounty, a sort of state within the state.
Turenne
Interesting point for hike lovers: Turenne is the starting point of the GR480, a hiking trail that crosses several exceptional villages of the Corrèze.
Learn More About France
We invite you to learn more about France, its beautiful regions, and the experiences we love the most. You would find resources in our educational platform Decouvertes University very helpful. If you found this article helpful then you would enjoy our webinars on:
- Discovering the Beautiful Champagne Region
- Family and Kid Experiences in Provence
- Wine Experiences: Paris, Loire Valley & Bordeaux
You could always simply send us a request on . We also encourage you to read more from Decouvertes’ Blog. As always, we look forward to hearing from you and sharing our love for France with you.