With its huge forests, Picardie is undoubtedly the green lung of the north of France. Barely fifty kilometres from Paris is Oise. Here you can breathe, take in the fresh air, take a walk or a bike ride in the royal forests of Chantilly, Compiègne, Ermenonville, Retz and Saint-Gobain, in Aisne... tens of kilometres of forest cycle paths stretch out. More pastoral are the groves of Thiérache and Pays de Bray around Beauvais, where enthusiasts introduce people to landscape reading during botanical walks. At the southern tip of the region is the Vallée de la Marne and the vineyard hills of the Route du Champagne... There’s everything you need for a weekend escape.
“What we have here is space. You have the feeling that you can go further, always further,” says Lionel Boone, a land yachting instructor. The Picardian coast and Baie de Somme, listed among the world’s most beautiful bays, are perfect for wildlife enthusiasts. A route for migratory birds, which can be observed in the Parc du Marquenterre nature reserve, the Picardian coast and its 60 km of dunes, sandy and pebble beaches and cliffs is one of the last French coastlines preserved in its natural state and is wild in places.
In these large open spaces, there is also a huge range of open-air activities on offer, from land yachting, sea kayaking, rambling, horse walks astride the Henson, the horse from Baie de Somme, to windsurfing and, for the more adventurous, speed-sailing and kite-surfing! In Picardie, there’s a surprise around every corner.
With your family or among friends, whether you prefer a nap in the dunes, a walk around the ‘Crowned Mountain’ of Laon, the coloured patchworks of the cereal fields where the view stretches for miles or the panorama on the lakes of the Vallée de la Somme, the choice is immense... just like the sky in this region.
Add to my travel journal