The least populated department of France, located in the south of the Massif Central, between the mountains of Lozère and the plateau of the Grands Causses, offers spaces of vast wild lands resembling in places the steppes of Mongolia.
To discover
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Gorgeous rides
We meet high-level riders who have come to train for one of the most difficult endurance races in the world, the "160 kilometers of Florac".
For three days, they will train to climb Mont Aigoual, the Causse Méjean and the peak of Finiels, the summit of the department which dominates at 1,699 meters.
The film directed by Caroline Conte for "Des Racines et des Ailes", collection "Passion Patrimoine" on France 3, reports on these magnificent rides but also on the beautiful energy of this territory where everyone participates in the preservation and sustainability of the places. .
The inventive meals served at the Auberge des Cévennes du Pont de Montvert are mouth-watering.
Famous for welcoming the Scottish writer Robert-Louis Stevenson (
Treasure Island
) on a hike on the GR70 with his donkey Modestine, the sleeping beauty under its slate roof has just reopened under the leadership of Eva Pulcinelli.
Accompanied by chef Bob Apadoo, who arrived from Mauritius to work with regional products, it can accommodate the many hungry hikers.
Village of diehards
In Hyelzas, the Pratlong family enlivens the village with enthusiasm and authenticity, which now has a museum, a recently restored mill with its miller, a cheese dairy and a counter where you can taste sheep's milk ice cream straight from the family farm.
This irreducible village of 60 souls is located on the Causse Méjean, listed as a UNESCO heritage site, perched above the Gorges de la Jonte.
Guest rooms and cottages allow a stay.
Read alsoFive charming hotels in Lozère, closer to nature
When you love Lozère, you don't count.
A couple of artists and homeopaths have set their sights on the small hamlet of Bassy.
With its five granite buildings, its schist slate roofs, it is located on the side of a cliff and accessible by a small uncertain path.
We follow the craftsman who restores, in difficult conditions, the roofs by restoring a magnificent harmony to the place.
Restored Cathedral
Lozère is full of pretty castles in the Lot valley that France 3 magazine has chosen to show us from the sky.
In Mende, the airport runway overlooking a cliff, famous for its difficulty, served as the setting for the final scene of La Grande Vadrouille with Louis de Funès and Bourvil throwing themselves into the void above the Lozère landscapes.
In the center of Lozère, Mende can be proud of its Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat cathedral, a Gothic jewel built in blond local limestone.
Étienne Barthélémy, chief architect of historical monuments, in charge of its repair, shows us the eight Aubusson tapestries in wool and silk representing the life of the Blessed Virgin.
Read alsoHow Lozère will reopen wolf hunting
In the sacristy, the heavy walnut furniture is a marvel.
More surprisingly, the architect opened a chapier, an original piece of furniture invented under Richelieu to store flat the priests' copes, large semi-circular capes worn during solemn celebrations.
Each of the drawers of the chapier measures more than 3 meters in diameter.
In the tower of the Chapter, a carpenter cabinetmaker, creates a woodwork to accompany the works, while in walnut highlighting in particular the altarpiece of Mgr Piencourt, bishop and benefactor of the cathedral of Mende.