A Vosges nature bath
It is one of the most forested departments in France. In the Vosges, 48% of forests cover 280,000 hectares. An ideal destination to experience a forest bath. “
It is not a simple walk in the woods but a real immersion in places with particularly healthy air, conducive to letting go, which we recognize by the presence of a lichen on the trunk and branches of the trees. trees, Usnea barbata. We call it the beard of Sotré because it is curly like the pixie of a Vosges legend.
», Testifies Claude Monarde, Vosgienne fan of the concept.
This particular way of hiking is one of the new immersive approaches stamped "FORêT the Vosges effect".
The brand does not only concern the department but the entire massif which covers 7 departments.
Twenty-three mountain guides are ambassadors.
Read the file: Grand Est: the
Figaro
travel guide
Sylvie Triboulot, accompanist and music therapist, creates instruments with what she finds: water, stone, bark, granite.
Michel Laurent / Lorraine Tourism
Another original way to immerse yourself in the woods is offered by Vanessa Savignard: by tasting the plants.
In this hike gathering curative and culinary wild plants of the massif, the discovery is followed by the preparation of recipes and a tasting (rando-vaness.com).
Still other experiences are carried by the FORêT effect Vosges brand.
Like this musical stroll orchestrated by Sylvie Triboulot, accompanist and music therapist, who creates instruments with what she finds: water, stone, bark, granite.
Families with children from 2 years old welcome them (sens-a-sons-nature.com).
More information:
tourisme.vosges.fr/foret
A Moselle Noah's ark
Sainte-Croix was among the first zoos to offer the possibility of sleeping on site, in one of the 46 “nature lodges” located in the territory of the animals. Morgane Bricard
Two cubs, small lynx and wolf cubs: the year 2020 was more pink than black at the Sainte-Croix animal park, which recorded a large number of births. It was also that of his fortieth birthday. In 1980, Gérald Singer, a farmer by trade, made the bet to open a space that showcases European fauna. The Lorrainer, green before his time, was convinced that the European pond turtle deserved as much to be protected as the Asian tiger. Evolving in virtual freedom among 120 hectares of nature, packs of wolves, bears and bison share the bill with the Scottish cow, the great gray owl or the Alpine marmot.
The Moselle Noah's Ark inaugurates this season an immersive aviary dedicated to the capercaillie. This majestic gallinaceous species, threatened with extinction in the Vosges, is an "umbrella species": on its existence depends that of dozens of others. One of the concepts explained by the 1,500 panels that dot the park and teach the youngest to juggle the terms of ecosystem or biotope.
A pioneer in terms of ecology, Sainte-Croix was also among the first zoos to offer the possibility of sleeping on site, in one of the 46 “nature lodges” located in the territory of the animals.
La Grange aux Coyotes, opened last year, is the first hotel of its kind.
With its 11 bedrooms, this large barn has a common living space, with billiards, library and fireplace.
From the terrace, in the heat of the brazier, you can observe bison, bears and raccoons.
A moment suspended.
Animal Park of Holy Cross, 57810 Rhodes.
Phone.
: 03 87 03 92 05.
Read also: Reopenings: do we still have to go to the zoo?
Aquatic getaways from lakes to ponds
Gérardmer lake, seen from the forest.
Mr. Laurent / Lorraine Tourism
The most famous in the valley is Gérardmer Lake.
At an altitude of 670 m and bathing water heated to 22 ° C at the height of summer, this water sports and trout fishing spot in the Vosges department runs 6 km of hiking all around its 115 hectares. .
But its fine reputation is followed by that of Lake Longemer, at an altitude of 736 m, between forests and peaks.
This high place of green tourism is in fact classified as a remarkable natural monument to sustainably safeguard its beauty and identity.
Lorraine is a destination for enchanting aquatic getaways.
Each of the four departments has its own characteristic water bodies.
Read also: Five nuggets to discover in the Northern Vosges
Not far from there, the pond of Stock, the largest in Moselle, attracts boats, in the network managed by Voies navigables de France.
It is also a water reserve for the coal mine canal of the Sarre.
As for the pond of Gondrexange, created in the Middle Ages by fish-farming monks, its 700 hectares offer a recreational fishing area renowned for pike-perch, pike and perch.
In Meuse, new developments and equipment have placed Madine Lake in perspective.
There is something for all tastes and desires: swimming, lazing around, picnicking, fishing, sailing, but only by sail, from the base of Nonsard.
Departing from the Discovery Center, the Mémoires de voyageurs ornithological trail crosses the national hunting and wildlife reserve, as far as the observatory nestled at Pointe aux Chênes.
Finally, a few kilometers from the crystal city of Baccarat, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lake Pierre-Percée, the second largest artificial lake in Lorraine, offers a host of activities with high added value in adrenaline (elastic adventure tower, tyrolcable, catapult, net course…) in a landscape worthy of a Canadian setting.
More information:
tourisme-lorraine.fr
Contemporary art that takes the key to the field
“Hannibal”, by the artist Marina Le Gall, represents a mammoth with enamelled terracotta scales.
Elisa Bertin
Combining contemporary art, nature, rurality and hiking, this is the essence of Vent des Forêts, an unusual creative approach in the heart of the Meuse department. Since 1997, more than 220 works of art, often masterful, have been produced by renowned artists of various nationalities, in residence, then scattered in the hilly and wooded countryside, in the area of the village of Fresnes-au-Mont , 30 km from Bar-le-Duc and 35 km from Verdun.
Soak up this monumental open-air performance by strolling on one of the seven signposted circuits, freely accessible on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback.
In total, it is 45 km, with routes of 1 hour to 4 h 30 min.
Among the most spectacular works,
Hannibal
, a mammoth with enamelled terracotta scales, installed on the Gros Charme circuit.
The local population is involved in the process, which mobilizes a whole team of volunteers and craftsmen.
A successful alchemy between the land and contemporary art.
You can extend the experience by sleeping in one of the “sylvan houses”, kinds of little wooden cocoons in the heart of the forest and also works of art.
Vent des Forêts, a rural space for contemporary art.
Phone.
: 03 29 71 01 95.
Cycling along the loops of the Meuse
Cycle through the Meuse, from Neufchâteau to Stenay, via Vaucouleurs, Saint-Mihiel and Verdun.
Getaway notebook
The 900 km long “La Meuse à Vélo” cycle-tourist route runs from Langres (Haute-Marne) to the North Sea, passing through Lorraine along the Meuse.
Four stages between wooded hillsides, peaceful countryside and historic villages.
NEUFCHÂTEAU-VAUCOULEURS (45 km)
Perched on a mound that plays side-by-side with the river, the pretty town of Neufchâteau is distinguished by its superb central square lined with elegant 18th century buildings.
The route winds through the meanders of the Meuse to Domrémy-la-Pucelle, where the birthplace of Joan of Arc stands.
Another 25 km and you reach Vaucouleurs, another place associated with the heroine of French history.
It is indeed from the chapel located in the upper town that Joan of Arc launched the first stage of her epic in 1429. The Jeanne-d'Arc Museum traces the extraordinary fate of the brave warrior.
Read also: The Meuse by bike, a nice trip through Wallonia
There are many superb views over the Meuse countryside, especially in Mont-devant-Sassey.
JB Carillet
VERDUN-STENAY (65 km)
After Verdun, the hilly route crosses typical Lorraine village-streets, such as Villefranche.
There are superb views over the Meuse countryside, especially at Mont-devant-Sassey, on the wooded slopes of the Meuse coast.
Terminus Stenay, stronghold of the Lorraine brewing tradition.
The Beer Museum, housed in two completely renovated levels in the former citadel's food store, is devoted to the history of this beverage from its origins to the present day.
SNCF stations on the route:
Neufchâteau, Commercy and Verdun.
The route, marked with signs, alternates between secure greenways and low-traffic country roads (eurovelo.com; facebook.com/lameuseavelo).
Rental of bicycles (including electrically assisted) possible in Neufchâteau, Commercy, Verdun and Stenay.
Downloadable list of accommodation adapted to welcome cyclists (meuse.fr).
Castles in pitons in the Northern Vosges
Visual shock guaranteed from Falkenstein Castle.
Lezbroz Falkenstein
It feels far from everything, like cut off from the world, despite the average altitude, a modest 400 m. Glued to the soles of the Lorraine plateau (to the west) and the Alsace plain (to the east), the northern Vosges massif, wild and unknown, offers a maximum change of scenery. For millions of years, the erosion of rain and that of the flow of rivers have shaped spurs and cliffs, valleys and basins, on which expanses of beech, hornbeam and conifers have thrived. A beautiful adventure playground crisscrossed with hiking trails and crossed by a handful of trough roads.
Departing from Bitche, in Moselle, a pretty town dominated by an impressive Vauban citadel, the D662 leads in a quarter of an hour to the Hanau pond, a gem set in the forest.
In the background stands out the keep of the castle of Waldeck, on a hill.
It is one of the 24 semi-troglodyte fortresses scattered around the area.
Built between the 12th and 14th centuries, these castles fit into the pink sandstone peaks so characteristic of the Northern Vosges, as if they were one with their stone setting.
We walk about twenty minutes to reach the Château du Ramstein, a nugget well hidden in the forest canopy.
Lezbroz Ramstein
Some rooms occupy natural cavities, the contours of the dwellings follow the relief, stairs are carved out of the rock. Both places of residence and garrison, these bastions were gradually abandoned from the 15th century and left to nature. "
The dense vegetation and the surrounding ponds surround them with a romantic atmosphere that has inspired many chivalrous legends
", underlines Joël Beck, president of the Lorraine History and Archeology Society (Shal). It is only recently that some of them have undergone repair and security work to accommodate the public. But they retain that aura of mystery and their raw appearance.
“
The châteaux of the Vosges du Nord do not appear at first sight.
You have to earn them!
», Adds the historian.
This is the case of the Falkenstein castle.
It can be reached on foot or by a small road from the D662.
Visual shock guaranteed: this long sandstone bar looks like a weightless ship in the middle of a sprawling forest.
Same feeling at the Château du Ramstein, on the heights of the town of Baerenthal (access by the D36).
We walk about twenty minutes to reach this nugget, well hidden in the forest canopy.
The only concession to modernism, a metal footbridge was built to the top of the ruins.
The reward ?
A panorama sweeping a valley out of time.
More information:
tourisme-paysdebitche.fr
A walk above the trees in Drachenbronn
Halfway along the “Chemin des cimes”, a skeleton tower awaits climbers: a spiral ramp of 425 m climbs to the summit (29 m above sea level).
EAK Company
A “Chemin des Cimes” has just opened near Wissembourg (Alsace), in Drachenbronn, in the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park, located on the outskirts of the massif and particularly wooded. The path of the peaks just brushes against those of the trees. Built from scratch on the hillside, between 7 m and 23 m above the ground, this perched path describes a 625 m loop, punctuated by educational panels on the environment. Halfway through, a skeleton tower awaits climbers: a spiral ramp of 425 m climbs to the summit, 29 m above sea level and has a 360 ° view of the Northern Vosges, the Rhine plain and the Black Forest. Descent by the same route or by a (real) stainless steel slide, 75 m of slide, the children will love it.
The tenth of its kind but unprecedented in France, this outdoor attraction, designed by the German company EAK, is the first realization of the project to rehabilitate a military detection and control air base, disused since 2015. “
More than 600 people lived here.
In order to revitalize the local economy, we have decided to transform this 20 ha territory and its surroundings into a tourist site
”, explains Serge Strappazon, president of the community of municipalities of Wissembourg.
A food workshop for making Alsatian tarte flambée bases, a restaurant, chalets, an adventure park and high-end bungalows are announced for 2022.
More information:
chemindescimes-alsace.fr
