Monts du Forez Travel Guide

 kokoryko Says:  Writing about Forez without writing about the wine which is grown and elaborated on the eastern slopes of the mountain would not be serious. . . .And this wine deserves it! Oh! It is not a Médoc, or a Margaux, but it has really something special, particularly during the... 

 kokoryko Says:  Col des Pradeaux, or “Pradeaux pass” is a good starting point for hiking in the meadows and here are a few pictures of what can be seen near the pass, before you discover the daffodils meadows. At 1196 m elevation are only a few houses marking the pass, on the road D 996... 

 kokoryko Says:  I wrote in the introduction that the Forez mountains culminate at 1634 m ( at la Pierre sur Haute), and the line tree is 300-400m below; there are beautiful meadows where hikes in the blowing wind are a real pleasure!In early spring, nature rewards the hiker who leaves the... 

 kokoryko Says:  Well, we are not crossing the Gorges du Tarn on the motorway near Millau, where one of the best recent civil engineering work has been achieved these last years (Hahaha, people remember the architects, but these guys, without the engineers would just be keeping dreaming in... 

 kokoryko Says:  That night, it was « Les jeux de l’amour et du hasard » from Marivaux, a famous and funny play, well played by the actors of the Belgian “Infini Theatre” company.The Montpeloux Volcano is in fact a quarry, not any more in use, and the local municipalities community decided... 

 kokoryko Says:  Between Craponne and Chalencon, in the picturesque Ance Valley, you have the opportunity to walk on a strange rock formation, lava, but not a lava flow as we know them usually. In the Forez Mountains, volcanic manifestations are very rare, to the contrary of close by Monts... 

 kokoryko Says:  History and time make their work, and not a lot, except the general shape, is left from the 12th century, time when this little church, probably the castle chapel, has been built.It is however very nice to spend some time in the church and look at the sober coloured glass... 

 kokoryko Says:  You can have wonderfully interesting surprises in summer, when you take the small track from the parking at the entrance of the village, and come across places covered with wild blueberry shrubs and raspberries, mmmm, and further, when you arrive at the church, on the west... 

 kokoryko Says:  Pétanque is a French and Mediterranean “sport” (there are even world championships) and the best steel balls (I prefer to write balls rather than bowls, which are used in bowling) used in that sport are manufactured in St Bonnet (I have myself two triple sets, and play... 

 kokoryko Says:  You see Montarcher from quite far (first picture), with the little church and the houses on the highest hill (1162 m elevation) of the Département; many people visit this place just because it is very quiet, because there are beautiful look outs and beautiful hikes in the... 

 kokoryko Says:  We are not very far from Lyon, and excellent food or wine are never far when you are in the Lyon area! Locals and tourists enjoy a lot the little shops of the village, and if you are looking for a snack or something alike, you will not miss the “patisserie-confiserie”... 

 kokoryko Says:  Ah! Before we have a look at a few shops and a very special museum, let us walk in the quiet streets of St Bonnet. St Bonnet Le Chateau was a wealthy little city at the end of Middle age and during the 16th to 18th centuries; small industries related to iron extraction... 

 kokoryko Says:  The kids like a lot macabre discoveries, as long there is light and adults are with them; imagine the head of the first picture appears in the light of your torch when you walk alone in a silent gallery under a church or a cemetery. . . . !A chapel, called now “Chapel of the... 

 kokoryko Says:  Walking in the woods is a very common, not at all original activity. . . but, observing the nature and the light, just looking makes discover a lot, and if the kids are a bit bored, show a bit reluctance, show them the little marvels in the woods, they may get interested,... 

 kokoryko Says:  Ah, yes, one subject of this page are the “Forez Balconies”, and I explained these were look outs; this in fact is a modern acceptation of this expression, but here, on the main picture, you see a real Forez balcony; this here (picture 1) is typical, a wooden balcony, quite... 

 kokoryko Says:  Like in Auvergne (and probably other places I do not know), people of Forez grow some of their trees on the sunny sides of their houses; pear trees particularly seem well suited for that sort of cultivation, and they give very sweet and juicy fruits; in the past, these... 

 kokoryko Says:  When you walk or drive in the High Forez, you may have a little insight into rural life, see how people on the mountains live; they are far from the cities, their houses and little villages are isolated in the mountains, and it is a place here where you see the postman drive...