In Dordogne, in the Cévennes or in Creuse, these sites near us where we would like to relax

Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère Buddhist Center (Dordogne)

Buddha and Cro-Magnon rub shoulders in the Vézère valley. In the heights of "the valley of man" where the Lascaux caves were discovered, we discover with surprise a stupa, prayer wheels and llamas in orange tunics. Tibet in the Dordogne! Dhagpo Kagyuling Temple is the main European center for the preservation and dissemination of the Kagyupa Buddhist tradition, one of the four spiritual lineages from Tibet. Throughout the year, it offers a rich program of teaching and meditation through guided retreats, meetings with Tibetan masters, training courses in Buddhist philosophy, seminars on reflection on accompaniment. people in mourning or at the end of their lives, teenagers or young adults ... Buddhist "awake" or simple curious, everyone is welcome to learn the teaching of the Buddha and continue his inner journey. The Dhagpo also offers sessions related to current issues of modern society: how to reduce stress, live in harmony with yourself and with others, accept your mistakes, etc. What meditate and create good karma.

Dhagpo Kagyu Ling. 24290 Saint Léon sur Vézère. Phone. : 05 53 50 70 75; www.dhagpo.org .

The tchanquées huts, Arcachon bay (Gironde)

At low tide, the huts tchanquées high perched on the sand. stock.adobe.com

The Arcachon basin smells of iodized oyster and sand - that of the Pilat dune (105 meters high, broken European record), Banc d'Arguin or the beaches of Cap Ferret. We walk there in pinasse (elegant boat typical of the Gascon coast), generally up to Île aux Oiseaux. There, two tchanquées huts (of chanca, "stilts" in Gascon) dominate the waves. Perched on their stilts, they evoke two Landes waders guarding their flock. Oyster parks were once watched there. They are now approached by kayak or boat, dreaming of playing Robinson Crusoe on these houses levitating between sky and sea. At low tide, here they are perched high on the sand, guardians of a desert of wet sand. Refuge for migrants, Île aux Oiseaux has other wooden oyster shacks, simpler (no running water or electricity). At high tide, the wild island loses nine-tenths of its surface. And we start to dream of a miniature village on stilts. A Gironde Venice…

Electric tillole. This small electric pinnace, 8 meters long, allows you to discover Île aux Oiseaux and the Arcachon basin without emitting any noise or pollution. Daily rental. pinasse-electrique.fr .

The black triangle of Quercy (Lot)

At nightfall, settled in the grass of the causse of the black triangle of Quercy. stock.adobe.com

Since 2002, we know that the purest sky in France at low altitude is located in a small triangle located in Quercy, between Labastide-Murat, Livernon and Sauliac-sur-Célé. The light pollution is so low that the radiance of the stars is hardly disturbed by the luminous halo of public lighting. It is therefore here that one must stand to admire Andromeda, Pegasus, Cassiopeia and the other constellations of the Milky Way. In Limogne-en-Quercy, Reilhac and Carlucet, astronomical observation tables make it easier to find your bearings. But while the eye examines the sky, the spirit flies away and gets lost in the black ink of the galaxy. Under the star of the shepherd, to the sound of the hoots of a tawny owl, we witness the moonrise then, installed in the short grass of the causse, we fall asleep in his sleeping bag ... Under the stars, naturally .

Crozant (Hollow)

Fortress of Crozant seen on the Creuse. stock.adobe.com

The Crozon peninsula should not be confused with that of Crozant. The rocky spur that interests us is not beaten by the sea waves, but by those of the Creuse and Sédelle, which meet under the eye of the Château de Crozant. Let’s talk about ruins, and what ruins! Perched on their promontory, they face a small circus of wooded cliffs that the painter Armand Guillaumin saw pink, mauve and blue-green all at the same time. The site is so pictorial, and its surroundings invite so much to take the brush, that a movement of painting, "the school of Crozant", was born here. Long before the painters, George Sand visited Crozant with his Chopin. "We therefore do not know who was bolder and more tragically inspired, in this place, by nature or by men ...", she wrote. Everyone can give their answer by walking on the rocks of the Fileuse, which face the romantic remains of the castle.

The Garonne Canal (Tarn-et-Garonne)

From Moissac to Montech, the Garonne canal aligns its plane trees and its arched bridges… stock.adobe.com

From Moissac to Montech, the Garonne Canal aligns its plane trees and arched bridges with the same application as its famous brother from the south of Toulouse, the Canal du Midi. Far from the whims of the Garonne, the canal lends itself to napping, daydreaming and cycling. It is in the hot summer hours that we taste its tiny delights best (as Philippe Delerm sang in A Garonne ): the whisper and green nuances of the water, the soothing symmetry of the banks, the lock passage ritual… The Cacor canal bridge, which spans the Tarn with its stone and brick arches, creates a surprise: two rivers cross without touching each other. From Montech, we reach Montauban, the beautiful city of Ingres, by another, wilder channel. In the evening, the sun gilds the still waters as in a fairy tale. In this channeled Southwest, there is no time for idleness.

Donkey ride in the Cévennes (Lozère)

A path, the GR70, allows you to walk 252 km through the Haute-Loire, the Ardèche, the Lozère and the Gard. stock.adobe.com

In 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson left to cross the Cévennes in the company of a donkey named Modestine. The animal will give a lot of trouble to the Scottish writer, who had not yet written The Treasure Island . Stevenson came to see the country of the Camisards, whose exploits he had read until he was thirsty. He also wanted to forget a heartache. In the narrow Cévennes valleys, through the solitudes of Velay, Gévaudan and Haute-Lozère, he found meaning in his journey. Walking as an exercise in the soul. His diary, Voyage with a donkey through the Cévennes , has become the bedside book of all the backpackers. A path, the GR70, allows you to walk in the footsteps (and hooves) of Stevenson and his donkey: 252 km through the Haute-Loire, Ardèche, Lozère and Gard. Like Stevenson, you can hire a pack donkey, cross the stone hamlets and sleep under the stars, intoxicated by the smell of callune, broom and Salzmann pines. In praise of the slowness and patience ... Notice to parents, the Stevenson trail is practiced with family, the donkey making a good travel companion for children.

The Sainte-Foy ski area (Lozère)

Sainte-Foy ski in Saint-Julien-des-Points Sainte-Foy / Photo press

An Orthodox monastery in the south of the Cévennes: the sacred silence of Mount Athos between Gard and Lozère… It was in 1996 that Brother Jean founded this skite, which depends on the Russian archdiocese in Western Europe. He receives, along with brother Joseph (a specialist in Slavonic singing), passing guests who request it. In this hermitage overlooking the Gardon valley, you can attend the morning and evening services if you wish. But you don't have to be a believer to soak up the spiritual and highly revitalizing atmosphere. The litany of Orthodox prayers, the play of flames on the golden icons of the chapel, the evening light through the stained glass windows ... Outside, the terraced garden offers a 360 ° view of the valley. Board and lodging are provided, and luckily the table is excellent. Our two white beards in black dresses take great care to maintain their vegetable garden, advised in this by great chefs who have come to blow away from the pressures of the world. Benevolent presences, the “Laurel and Hardy of orthodoxy” (they are the ones who say so) help make any retirement a moment of peace and a journey out of time.

Sainte-Foy ski area: 48160 Saint-Julien-des-Points; Phone. : 04 66 45 42 93. Visit and stay by appointment. Three simple but comfortable rooms, reserved for guests. Free participation in the costs of the stay.

The Basque cornice, Hendaye (Pyrénées Atlantiques)

The cliffs of Socoa, Basque Country. vouvraysan - stock.adobe.com

Among the marvels of the Basque Country, the Basque cornice is the one that most invites you to let go. This coastal path traces its path over eight kilometers between the invigorating ocean winds and the cut-out silhouette of the Pyrenees. Leaving the semaphore of Socoa, we walk along green cliffs battered by the waves, bordered by heather. In winter, the days of strong swell, the ocean swells and the giant wave of Belharra appears, Grail of local surfers. Loya Bay makes a lovely indentation in this coastline shaded by tamarisk, strawberry trees and gorse. Cradled by the rolling of the pebbles, the Spanish mountains in sight, we salute the neo-Gothic towers of the Abbadia observatory castle. Then we reach the superb Hendaye beach, the largest on the Basque coast: three kilometers of fine sand under the care of the Twins, two rocks that erosion has freed from their cliff. At the end of the 2h30 to 3h walk, those who are full of Basques will have at least had their eyes full. To do preferably in the light of a morning in June or September, in the north-south direction to enjoy the view of the mountains.

The grand canyon of Ordesa (Spain)

The grand canyon of Ordesa. Elmundodepeapa -

Located in the Spanish Pyrenees, this spectacular canyon is the counterpart of our Gavarnie cirque, from which it is separated by Mont Perdu, the third highest peak in the Pyrenees. Vertiginous mineral walls, which the gorse in bloom line with yellow, fall abruptly until the bottom of the glacial valley of Ordesa. Deep down, the Rio Azaras is doing what it can to get out of this immense pincer. From the circus of Soaso, which closes the canyon, it presses into a series of superb jumps (the "grados") and waterfalls, which make foam its water before returning it its blue ice. In the heights, "fajas", kinds of panoramic viewpoints, allow you to appreciate the breathtaking beauty of this XXL landscape. In the distance, you can see the Brèche de Roland in the distance. For a bit, we would soar with bald vultures and bearded vultures over this Iberian Colarado.

Pyrenees Road Trip: Tourisme Hautes-Pyrénées has created a contemplative circuit by car to discover the wonders of the Pyrenees massif on both sides of the border (Grand canyon of Ordesa, Pic du Midi, cirque de Gavarnie, etc.). www.pyrenees-trip.com .

Cadaqués and the Catalan coast (Spain)

Cadaqués and the Catalan coast. Kalamurza photographer

30 minutes south of the Franco-Spanish border, Cap de Creus forms a rocky spur on the Catalan coast. Nestled in the hollow of a splendid bay, Cadaqués evokes a mother-of-pearl at the bottom of its shell. With its whitewashed houses, its labyrinthine alleys flowered with bougainvillea and its Baroque church, it is a marvel of a Mediterranean village. Offshore, a triangular rock that must be cooed: Es Cucurucuc. A swarm of artists fell in love with this fishing village which is reached after many switchbacks: Picasso, then Salvador Dali who, alongside Gala, invited René Magritte, Paul Eluard, Luis Buñuel… It is good get lost in the cobbled alleys of the village and admire the splendid bay from the church. We are in Catalonia and we might as well be on a distant Greek island. Early risers will treat themselves to a sunrise at the Cap de Creus lighthouse. The whimsical geology of the place strongly inspired Dali. A possible navel of the world ...