Between the Rhône river and the Jura mountains, Lyon and Geneva, four strongly minded regions reveal a lot of pleasant surprises to their visitors.
Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and Pays de Gex for one region : Ain. This area owes its name to the river that goes through it from North to South. A river marrying the contrast of its natural regions : first going through tight gorges, then freed through a large rocky plain.
The first impression is the colour : green. The green of the graves that soften the horizon and lend rythm to the landscape, the green of the banks of the Saône by the buttresses of the Revermont.
Here and there, charming little villages peep out timidly, as bright with flowers as any in France.
Is the Bresse the soul of modesty ? Let us say rather that it is intent on preserving its own values: a way of life characterized by its own stamp of particular flavours and an art of living handed down from time immemorial.
First, on the gastronomic side, at the tables of the star chefs like Georges Blanc at Vonnas, or of the typical village inns. The gourmet has a field day wherever he goes. This is the home of the famous blue-legged Bresse chicken with such subtly flavoured flesh, the only «appellation contrôlée» poultry in the world. Is this affectation of perfectionism ? Every year, shortly before Christmas, competitions at Montrevel, Pont-de-Vaux and Bourg-en-Bresse select the «Trois Glorieuses» - the prize-winning birds of the three best poultry breeders in the Bresse.
In the second place, architecturally. There are timber-framed farmhouses, such as those at Les Planons or La Forêt, which surprisingly sport the curious mitre-shaped «saracen» chimney. There is the spectacular church at Brou, a masterpiece of Gothic flambloyance, adorned with a thousand stone sculptures and Renaissance stained-glass work.
And what skill is still expressed in the craftsmanship of the carved furniture built of walnut, ash-gall and cherrywood, and of the chinaware of Meillonnas !
As for folk-traditions, there are still occasions for merry-making and dancing to the music of the hurdy-gurdy.
Suddenly we find we are in Nature's waterland, where magic reflections entice us to step through the looking glass. Here is outspread the Dombes, with its thousand pools. Countless fascinating reflections change and reappear, at times veiled in a light mist. A thousand landscapes, dressed in a myriad colours as the seasons follow their cycle.
But beyond the dream the Dombes pulsates with real, vibrant life. This rushy world is a paradise for mallard, teal, egret and grey heron. A war-stage graven in the immemorial memory of migrant birds, it also harbours, at Villars-les-Dombes, one of the most splendid ornithological parks in Europe. There species native to the Dombes are to be found side by side with the humming-bird and the ostrich, the penguin and the Greater Flamingo. In aIl, two thousands birds originating from the five continents.
To each his own rites; man preserves the art of fishing : the gentle opening of the sluice-gate; the fish that are netted in the pound; then the cheerful, noisy sorting out of carp, pike and tench in the early morning.
Neither should we forget that the Dombes, heir to a rich past, is the guardian of a unique cultural heritage. Witness the famous mediaeval city of Pérouges; flowery Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne; Trévoux; Ars, the village of the saintly Curé; and countless castels and fortified houses built of rose-coloured brick.
THE BUGEY
Generous and hospitable, the Bugey draws its character at once from the landscape and its people.
Generous, for such was Nature when she endowed the region with riches so diverse and yet so complementary: mountains and running water, gentleness and passion. This permanent contrast engenders a deep serenity which is felt at every turn of the way along the coombs of the Valromey, among the hollows of the flower-carpeted meadows, on the Retord plateau, by the lake- shores of Nantua, Genin or Barterand, or at the feet of the cascades that gush from the mountainsides.
Hospitable, for that is the kind of people the «Bugistes» are by nature, made in the image of Brillat-savarin, the most famous gastronome, who was born here. For in the Bugey, people have learnt how to live and how to share the good things of life. From Belley, the historic capital of the Bugey, to Oyonnax, by way of Hauteville-Lompnes, hospitality is a law of the land. And everything starts over a convivial glass, for the grapes of the region produce wines in perfect accord with the spirit of the Bugey: Gamay, light and fruity ; the unusual Manicle; sparkling Cerdon, a lively rosé; and of course the famous Roussette of Seyssel.
All summer this gift for sharing enlivens the numerous «fêtes du four» - baking festivals. In the heart of the villages, around the communal bread oven, you can still sample loaves and tarts and raise your glass to the health of these people who have not forgotten how to take the time to live.
Where does the Pays de Gex really end ?
How can anyone grasp this region which seems to owe its unity only to that immense chain of mountain peaks, the highest in the Jura range? This space, dominated by the Crêt de la Neige (1 723 m), the Reculet and the Colomby de Gex, offers views over vaster horizons yet, over the city and lake of Geneva, over Mont Blanc and the Alpine chain, so near, its eternal snows merging into the blue of the sky.
In this landscape of the exceptional and the immeasurable the Pays de Gex is poised between the traditional aspect of Jura life, still to be seen in the valley of the Valserine, and acceptance of modernity, exemplified by Ferney, the city where Voltaire lived.
But reality favours the present, with aIl the dynamism of this immense living-space, apt for aIl sorts of leisure pursuits : rambling on foot or on horseback, mountain-biking, paragliding, potholing, golf... In Winter, the resorts of Lélex - Mijoux - La Faucille, Crozet or Bellegarde - Menthières provide a large territory for downhill and cross-country skiing : this is «SKI JURA SUD» country.
The spa at Divonne, the town with the oldest casino in France, carries on this vocation, with its developing emphasis on healthy, outdoor activities. A vocation which perfectly matches the image of the Pays de Gex.
Marne
( 51 )
An holyday rental for 200 €
A trip low price
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Tarn
( 81 )
From the Montagne Noire, the southern tip of the Massif Central, to the wide, tranquil plains of the Agout and Tarn rivers, and from the rugged unspoilt Ségala region to the rounded hills of the Vaurais, gateway to the sprawling plains of the Lauragais, the Tarn offers an enormou...
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Destination:
Ain
