Mysterious forests, green valleys, extensive plains, vine-covered hills...
We’ll provide you with everything you need to explore our favourite places in the Champagne-Ardenne: a hiking information sheet along with an IGN map, a GPS tracer, and a virtual tour of each path – for some hikes we even offer a Geocaching option!
I’m off to www.champagne-ardenne-tourism.co.uk!
EXPLORING on foot, by bike and even by roller blade
The region’s landscapes are perfect for exploring on foot or by bike. As well as numerous paths ideal for hiking, a number of "greenways" have also been created, offering visitors even more options for getting away from it all.
To date, the Champagne-Ardenne has 400km of "greenways" criss-crossing the region.
This network continues to expand from year to year and is mainly centred on towpaths which run alongside canals and rivers or follow the path of old railway lines.
Whether you’re exploring the meanders of the Meuse across the Ardennes, the dams on the Lac du Der, the lakes of the Forêt d’Orient or passing through the Marne valley along the canal “between Champagne and Burgundy”, there are myriad ways of exploring this delightfully bucolic region.
The Meuse and Semoy Legends Trail
With its dark and occasionally unsettling forests, its colourful rocks, vestiges of old mountains and numerous and spellbinding lakes, rivers and streams, the Ardennes is truly a land of legend. It is often said that beneath every stone here lies a legend. Knights, sorcerers and spirits inhabited this old Celtic land in days gone by, affording it the somewhat strange air that entrances children and lingers in the popular memory. Our mythical forests, omnipresent water and mysterious shapes formed by nature have inspired many wonderful tales passed on from one generation to the next. The most famous legend of all, “The Legend of the Four Sons of Aymon” and of their magical horse Bayard, keeps the children of the Ardennes spellbound even today. The Château du Diable in Roc La Tour, the Dames de Meuse in Laifour, and the Rièzes de Rocroi are all examples of superb natural sites which form spectacular backdrops to the legends of the Ardennes. Deep in our hills overlooking the meanders of the Meuse or the Semoy, it’s easy to allow yourself to go back in time to the land of legends, fairies and fearsome lords.
Ardennes Tourist Board – Tel: 03 24 56 06 08 - www.ardennes.com
For more hiking ideas, download our Walks and Hikes brochure>>
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