Musk rats sitting on a log, floating down a river. A loose cow, casually wandering down the village street. An abandoned castle, half strewn with vines, in the middle of the countryside. A giant horse, galloping in circles in a forest clearing while his owner looks on. Just a normal day in the heart of the French countryside.
After almost five years, it was so nice to arrive back in France. A special place for us, and kind of bittersweet this time without Prune. Suzi though, she embraced the adventure with us, and the week went by in a blur of forested roads, and emerald green hills grazed by chubby cows.
We were staying in the cute and tidy village of Langeron in the Burgundy region of France. Ours was an old buttercup coloured farmhouse, complete with low beamed ceilings and thick walls, and a large yard full of trees overlooking the countryside. It was across from the church, so we would be woken by bells at seven each morning, which was, for me at least, quite a convenient alarm clock!
Suzi loved exploring the garden, and Langeron has numerous roads and paths to enjoy a long walk, fields of rapeseed, friendly cows and noisy bulls. In fact, this area is home to the Charolais breed of cow, and you will see these shaggy white bovines all over, which we inevitably loved.
Like we usually do in France, we would pick a roughly circular route to drive each day, stopping along the way wherever took our fancy. That’s the beauty out here, you never know what you might come across, and we were often pulling over to check out an abandoned chateau or doing an eight point turn on a country road to get closer to something else we wanted to see. This area doesn’t have any must-sees, in particular, so even more reason to just explore.
Some of our favourite places that I would recommend if you do find yourself out here, would definitely include the very cute village of Appremont sur Ailler, named as one of the prettiest villages in France. It really is like being in a fairytale, with the neat stone cottages and flowers, and the river right there. We spotted a bunch of muskrats too, hanging out on the water! In that area, Sagonne is also a cute medieval village with its own chateau. And there is also an abandoned dungeon, the donjon de jouy, all in the vicinity.
If you’re headed south, then you’ll find yourself crossing over into the Auvergne region. The geography is similar, perhaps a little more hilly, but just as stunning. Here, the places of note are Bourbon l’archambault with its fortress and buzzy streets, as well as Souvigny with its large cathedral and narrow streets. There are also some interesting forested areas here, and you can stop for a walk at many, especially at the Foret de troncais. We took Suzi there and had fun exploring the mysterious dark woods.
Speaking of forests, for the OG, you need to head to the Morvan National Park, west of Langeron. The drive here itself is stunning- thickly forested hills and hair pin bends, each one revealing a view of the mist covered valley where mysterious black horses graze and cows move their family over babbling streams. We took a walk at one of the routes there, and the views were amazing. It’s quite a drive though, but you could take a stop along the way at the larger town of Decize.
If you visit one larger town, choose La Charité sur Loire. This beautiful place is set on the Loire River, and to reach it you park and walk over a big bridge with the river rushing below. There is a fortress above the town which you can climb to, and the views from up there are breathtaking of the river and town below. On a sunny day, you can see for miles. The drive to get here is also particularly pretty, and goes though cute small villages.
Some of our favourite villages and areas to explore were actually close to our base. Avril sur Loire for example, with a lovely long path next to the canal you can walk along. Or the neighbouring cute village of Fleury sur Loire where we encountered the escaped cow! From the village of St Parize La Châtel, you can walk in beautiful countryside dotted with abandoned chateaus. And the nearby village of Luthenay-Uxeloup has perhaps one of the most spectacular walks of all, a long path climbing up to a chateau, half hidden, with amazing views of the countryside. There are also some etangs in this area that are nice to check out (and where we met the rather excitable horse that was being exercised).
That’s the funnest part of these trips, the fact that you never know what’s beyond the next bend. That some town and villages will hold hidden surprises, and the people and animals you meet along the way will be what you remember the best. Sometimes not having any must dos or sees makes it even more exciting to explore. Especially with a four legged friend in tow.
Practical Information
Getting here and around- the easiest way is to drive from your base in Europe, or from Paris if flying in from abroad. You definitely need a car here to explore on your own steam.
Where to stay– we stayed in the lovely village of Langeron which is well located for all the activities I talked about. We rented a house through Gites de France which we found very reasonably priced. It was cosy and a nice place to come back to after a day’s adventures. We had some nice times together enjoying the garden and in the evening discussing our day and playing some games.
What to do- as I said, there are no real must dos, just enjoy losing yourself in this beautiful region. Burgundy’s tourism website is a good place to start for more inspiration. When driving around, Google maps is quite reliable for navigation.
Other things- We visited in December, and had a couple of wet days but mostly enjoyed nice weather luckily. There are pros to every season here, from Fall Colors to spring blossom and summer heat, but if you really want to see the Charolais cows that make this region so special, avoid January to April when they are mostly in their barns.
All in all, we had a lovely trip, nice to catch up together and enjoy some quality time exploring one of our favourite countries! Thank you to Maya for all the amazing photos 💕
