These are monuments, natural sites or heritage treasures that make France famous throughout the world. Labeled or listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, these major tourist sites are generally located far from cities and major roads. This is to forget that some are served directly by train or a shuttle from the nearest station. Enough to put them within the reach of pedestrian travelers. The network of Grands sites de France also lists several “car-free nature getaways” to be done on foot, by bike or by train. Le Figaro has selected ten monuments and natural sites in France to discover without a car.
The bay of Mont-Saint-Michel
Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1979, the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) marks the border between Brittany and Normandy ... to the point that the two regions have always fought over it. The rocky islet surrounded by quicksand is dominated by the Benedictine abbey founded in 966. A “Bastille des mers” which over the centuries has become an important religious and military site, and even a prison in the decades following the French Revolution . Several times a year, when the tidal coefficient exceeds 110, Mont-Saint-Michel cuts itself off from the mainland and becomes an island again for a few hours. A spectacle to be observed mainly in October.
How to get there ? Until September 27, the Normandy region is experimenting with a direct rail line between Paris Montparnasse and Pontorson, from where a shuttle bus reaches Mont-Saint-Michel (4:36 in total). The one-way ticket is sold at the single price of € 27. Outside the summer period, the trip to Pontorson from Paris involves a change in Caen or Rennes.
Read also: From Mont-Saint-Michel to Granville, an iodized getaway in six stages
The Puy de Dôme
Access to the top of Puy de Dôme is by cogwheel train or on foot via several trails. reservoircom - stock.adobe.com
From the top of its 1465 meters above sea level, the Puy de Dôme is not the highest volcano in Auvergne (this title goes to Puy de Sancy), but it is undoubtedly the best known. Located 15 km from Clermont-Ferrand, this dormant volcano built 11,000 years ago offers a 360 ° C view of the Puys - Faille de Limagne chain, a tectonic hotspot listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018. At its summit, the remains of the Temple of Mercury, built in the 2nd century AD, make up one of the largest mountain shrines in Roman Gaul.
How to get there ? From the center of Clermont-Ferrand, take the shuttle to the Panoramique des Dômes station (35-minute journey, one passage every two hours between 8.45 am and 6.45 pm, runs only from May to November). From there, you reach the summit on foot (45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the trail) or by electric cogwheel train (15 minutes, every 20 to 60 minutes depending on the period).
Read also: Auvergne: four little-known hikes in the Chaîne des Puys
Gard's Bridge
The Pont du Gard is part of an old aqueduct which linked Uzès to Nîmes over 50 km. Kushnirov Avraham - stock.adobe.com
To supply the fountains, the thermal baths and the dwellings of Nîmes, the Romans built in the 1st century AD an aqueduct which started from the Eure fountain, near Uzès. An ingenious work extended over 50 km of which the Pont du Gard is the most impressive part. This masterpiece of ancient architecture with three levels of arches is 275 meters long and 49 high. While it is possible to access it for free on foot via several paths, the Pont du Gard site has a paid main entrance where a museum on Roman culture is set up.
How to get there ? From Avignon bus station, take bus 115 of the Edgard network; from Avignon bus station, take bus 121 (40 minutes). Line 126 also serves the site from the new Nîmes Pont-du-Gard station.
Read also: From the Pont du Gard to Nîmes, Romanity on the move
The dune of Pilat
Located at the entrance to the Arcachon basin, the Pilat dune is the highest in Europe (106 m). Philippe Devanne - stock.adobe.com
Located a few kilometers from Arcachon (Gironde), the dune of Pilat is the highest in Europe. A staircase allows you to climb this mass of sand 106 m high, although it is more fun to try to climb it with your feet in the sand. Once this effort is accomplished, a splendid panorama is offered to us with on one side the Arcachon basin and the Atlantic Ocean, on the other the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne. In perpetual motion, the dune, classified among the Great Sites of France, moves a few meters each year with the wind and the tides.
How to get there ? From Arcachon (1 hour from Bordeaux by TER), take the Dune Express shuttle (25 minutes) or the Baïa bus line 1 (40 minutes). In July and August, a maritime shuttle from the Union des bateliers arcachonais serves the dune from Cap-Ferret.
Read also: Arcachon Bay, our confidential addresses
Saint Emilion
The medieval village of Saint-Émilion has the largest monolithic church in Europe. Anton Petrus - stock.adobe.com
Its vineyard is the first registered by Unesco as a world heritage of humanity as a “cultural landscape”. If Saint-Émilion (Gironde) therefore has everything to delight wine tourism enthusiasts, the village can also be visited for its history, its monuments and its architecture. Located 40 km from Bordeaux, the medieval city has the largest monolithic church in Europe. Dug in the 12th century inside a limestone plateau, the building measures 38 m long and 12 m high, with a bell tower which rises to 68 m. The Saint-Émilion tourist office organizes guided tours (on foot or by bike) to discover the châteaux and the secrets of world-renowned wine making.
How to get there ? From the TER station of Saint-Émilion (30 minutes from Bordeaux), the village center is accessible in 15 minutes on foot.
Read also: Great getaways in the vineyards of Bordeaux
The castle of Chambord
The Château de Chambord is one of the many stages on the Loire Chateaux Route. National domain of Chambord
The castle of Chambord (Loir-et-Cher) is the largest of the “Loire châteaux”. Built in 1519 by order of François Ier (who only stayed there 72 nights during his 32-year reign), the building occupies an area of 5,440 hectares which today constitutes the largest closed forest park in Europe. The beginning of autumn is the ideal time to observe the fauna, which includes deer, does and fawns. In the center of the dungeon, visitors will have fun walking the double-spiral staircase that allows a person going up to never cross the one going down. A work that would have been imagined by the friend of François Ier, Leonardo da Vinci.
How to get there ? From Blois-Chambord train station (1h30 from Paris Austerlitz by Intercités or TER, 45 minutes from Tours and Orléans by TER), take the Châteaux shuttle (25 minutes) which operates on certain days from April to October. This shuttle also serves the châteaux of Villesavin, Cheverny and Beauregard.
To read also: Amboise, Blois, Villandry ... The châteaux of the Loire to see and review this summer
The medieval city of Carcassonne
The medieval city of Carcassonne is free to enter, but a ticket is required to visit the Count's castle and the interior ramparts. G. DESCHAMPS - CRT Occitanie
Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997, the medieval city of Carcassonne (Aude) has 52 towers behind its 3 km of ramparts. Until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, it marked the border between the kingdoms of France and Aragon. Looted and threatened with destruction, the city was restored for nearly 60 years under the supervision of the architect Viollet-le-Duc. If the city can be visited freely day and night, an entrance ticket is required to enter the count's castle and explore the interior ramparts.
How to get there ? From Carcassonne train station (45 minutes from Toulouse), the medieval city can be reached in 30 minutes on foot.
Read also: The Cathar country, between splendours and mysteries
Cap Blanc-Nez
The chalk cliffs of Cap Blanc-Nez face those of Dover, England, some thirty kilometers away. Christophe Cappelli - stock.adobe.com
Member of the network of Grands sites de France, Cap Blanc-Nez (Pas-de-Calais) is one of the most remarkable places of the Opal Coast and Hauts-de-France. On a clear day, the English coast is open to the view of walkers who venture onto this 134-meter-high chalk cliff. Several hiking trails allow you to discover the Deux Caps site through meadows and rapeseed fields. The GR120 takes you to Cap Gris-Nez, located 10 km further south.
How to get there ? From the center of Calais, take the Div'in bus line 5 to the Cap Blanc-nez stop (30 minutes, passage every hour).
Read also: From the Bay of Somme to the Château de Chantilly, Hauts-de-France in twelve must-see sites
The city-abbey of Cluny
The Abbey of Cluny was for five centuries the largest religious building in Europe. Klaus Brauner - stock.adobe.com
Founded in the year 910, the abbey of Cluny (Saône-et-Loire) remained the largest religious building in Europe (177 m long) until the construction of the basilica of Saint-Pierre-de- Rome in 1506. Proof of its religious, political and artistic influence in the Middle Ages, it is today one of the five French sites with the “European Heritage” label. Only a tenth of the original abbey remains, a large part having been demolished during the Revolution. To enjoy the panorama of the abbey city, climb the 120 steps of the Tour des Fromages.
How to get there ? From Mâcon-Ville or Mâcon-Loché TGV station, take the Mobigo bus line 701 (20 or 35 minutes).
Read also: Autumn walk in Burgundy in the land of Lamartine
The hospices of Beaune
The Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune was founded in 1443 during the last years of the Hundred Years War. Massimo Santi Photographer - stock.adobe.com
About fifty kilometers from Dijon, Beaune (Côte d'Or) is renowned for both its vineyard and its Hôtel-Dieu. Listed as a historical monument since 1862, the building has been remarkably preserved since its creation in 1443 as a hospital for the most deprived. This jewel of Gothic architecture is recognizable by its glazed and multicolored tile roofs which make up the identity of Burgundy. The museum houses a remarkable work by the Flemish master Rogier van der Weyden, the Last Judgment polyptych . High point of the visit: the Great Hall of Poor, remarkable for its dimensions (50 m long, 16 m high) and its oak beams evoking the monsters of hell.
How to get there ? From Beaune station (20 minutes by TER from Dijon), the hospices are accessible in 15 minutes on foot.
Read also: Burgundy: five country tables where to go green this summer