FRENCH ARDENNES ECOTOURISM City break IN THE STEPS Enjoy OF ARTHUR RIMBAUD the total Bright idea nature TAKE PART IN CHALLENGES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY experience Heritage sites OUR SELECTION OF OUTSTANDING TOURS Gastronomy A TOP CHEF’S COOKING SECRETS CONTENTS ESCAPISM FAMILY & AUTHENTICITY & WELLNESS SPOTLIGHT ON ECOTOURISM OpEN-AIR ACTIVITIES The Ardennes, the flagship destination · 10 45 Enjoy experiences with the family for sustainable tourism · Become an animal keeper Freedom trails · 12 · Try the spills and thrills challenge Learning while you walk · 14 · An encounter with bees They’ve cut the traces · 17 · Enter a fairy-tale world · Learn to fish HAVEN OF PEACE Take the time to just relax 18 RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES 49 1001 ways to take the plunge IN THE LAND OF LEGENDS Meet Arduin the druid 20 IN THE REALM OF FANTASY 51 “La Cassine en Ardenne”: a breeding ground of culture HERITAGE MAGIC & SHARING & LOCAL CULTURE CITY BREAK ! CULTURAL HIGHLIGHT Three good reasons to overnight 24 in Charleville-Mézières ThE RIMBAuD – VERLAINE TOuR In the steps of the poets 27 ADVENTURE Plunge into history 28 54 World Puppet in Sedan’s mighty castle Theatres Festival. ten outstanding days FINE ARCHITECTURE 32 From Rocroi to Givet for bikers · MUSIC AND FESTIVITIES Take the family around Thiérache in a motor home · 56 The “Cabaret vert”, popular fervour A romantic walking tour to Mouzon · GASTRONOMY A STROLL WITh A DIFFERENCE 58 The secrets of a top chef, Gratien Leroy At the pace of your steed 35 AN INTRODUCTION ACCOMODATION TO ANCIENT CRAFTS 61 Something to suit the most demanding The age-old craft of felt-making 37 REMEMBRANCE TOURISM The key sites of the three wars · 38 PRACTICAL INFORMATION I tested the War and Peace Museum for you · 41 62 Useful addresses 2 A MAGAZINE DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY THE ARDENNES TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AGENCY • MANAGING EDITOR : DAVID LAMARE • PUBLISHING MANAGER : CÉCILE HUREAUX • editor : RÉMY TALARICO / TALACOM • EDITORIAL COMMITTEE : NATHALIE DIOT, WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF CARL HOCQUART • ORIGINAL DESIGN AND ART DIRECTOR : JORDAN DEBRAY / ESSENCE VISUELLE • PHOTOGRAPHY : David Truillard, WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF SÉBastien Bollich, CHÂteau DU Faucon, Hervé Dapremont, PIERRE Defontaine ARTGE, FRANÇois DENIS, Nathalie Diot, Esther Driehaus, Thierry Florin, Vincent FRASIAK, Thomas GÉRARD, PIERRE Havrenne, CARL Hocquart, Laetis, CÉLINE Lecomte, Marc EN CIEL photographies, BRIgitte ET DENIS MIgnon, V MuLLER, MuSE ‘ Arts, Sébastien OrtegA-Dubois, MuSÉE Verlaine, Nick Rickert, Rémy Talarico, Alysse ThOMÉ, WI Splash. Chapter covER AND DOUBLE pages: David TRuillard - Marc EN CIEL photogRAphIES (P 8-9) - TRANSLATION : ALIZE EURO EDITORIAL The ArdennesThe e warned. The Ardennes is a potent land, a the pleasure of finding a path that is yours alone, a place magnetic centre, a place of arcane inspiration. to escape to, a haven of peace to recharge your batteries, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, George somewhere to enjoy yourself. All over the Ardennes, Sand, Julien Gracq, and André Dhôtel lakes, rivers and wildlife parks are just so many B are among those who have been sources of vitality and personal fulfilment. ensnared by it. Follow the course of the Meuse on foot, by bike In ancient times the goddess Arduinna or by boat, discover the towns and villages reigned over the immense forest of the nestling in its banks. Venture with friends or Ardennes, surrounded by wild boar, stags, family down byways and off the beaten track foxes and a legendary people of mischievous by motorbike or in a motorhome: they are imps, witches and devils. Take care when you sure to lead you to unforgettable buildings. Let upturn a stone or stride over its rocks… when your instinct guide you, and don’t hesitate to ask you walk through the Ardennes you run the risk of your way. The people of the Ardennes are like their being bewitched. But however you travel you also have land: warm, welcoming, and epicurean ! 2021 Edition NEWSFLASh A NUMBER 3 The number of Golf Cross courses in France : a New-Zealand sport, a cross between golf and rugby, to be discovered at Donchery. R DIARY IN2021 u WATER SPORTS FOR YO A water park ARTISTIC at Vieilles-Forges 6th edition Champs Boult’où New. Wi Splash, the water park, will be at Vieilles-Forges this summer. From 15th June to 31st August 24 modules will be installed A very special visual experience. The Champs Boult’où artistic trail is held in a 1500 m² enclosure, with two circuits: one for the family from between June and September in the pretty 6 years and over, and a more sporty one for young people and adults. stone-built village of Boult-au-Bois. Visual ATIONS AND DATES DATES AND ATIONS artistes, stained-glass creators and sculptors, v The big splash! Fully supervised, of course. basket-makers and ornamental metalwor- kers display their works and invite visitors to discover them during a surprise-filled stroll. INNO Free entry. HISTORY CYCLING Go back in time at Montcornet A new The historic village of Mont-Cornu invites Cross-border you to participate in an exciting adventure: each year new structures are created passage and take you to five different periods: Gallic, Gallo-Roman, Merovingian, Carolingian and medieval … with regular The French and Belgian Ardennes are creating displays and weekend events from a cyclable network which will enable visitors May to September. to explore the Ardennes in all its diversity. During 2021 a new section of greenway will be opened between Carignan and Muno DETAILS FROM : (Ravel network, Belgium). In 2022 it will 4 www.tourisme-valleesetplateaudardenne.com be linked to “the Meuse by bike”. NEWSFLASh ANNIVERSARY DISCOVERY From 17th to 26th September 21 The World Puppet Theatres Festival celebrates 60 years of creativity in Charleville-Mézières Try a new angle with Arden&Vous Feel the thrill of adventure, bivouac in the heart of the forest, walk the finest hiking trails, taste the region’s beers and cheeses : Arden&Vous offers you rich vacation experiences throughout AN ADDRESS TO NOTE GASTRONOMY the cross-border Ardennes region. MORE DETAILS FROM : Fluo.eu Brewing tourism www.ardenetvous.com This website created by the France’s As well as being a festive, convivial craft Greater East Region provides all the practical product, beer is also a very good way to information you need to travel by train, discover the Ardennes, its countryside, bus, shuttle and more. its know-how and its lifestyle. Cruises, brewery tours, tasting and more. ITINERARY ON THE SOCIAL NETWORKS : DETAILS FROM : @fluograndest or #montrajetfluos tourisme.echappee-biere.fr From stones to slates The Maison de la Nature (Nature Museum) in Boult-aux-Bois! NATURE On 26th Februry 2020 it was awarded the National Prize for If your holiday route takes you via the A304 Sustainable Tourism in the Leisure category for its Nature tours motorway, regardless of which direction open to all with its specially modified scooters fitted with kits you drive, from Rocroi in the north to Belval to receive people with reduced mobility, allowing them to move in the south or vice versa, you will cross independently. These mixed activities are run by two sustainable the Ardennes Regional Nature Park. environment and development technicians. Take advantage of the opportunity to explore The winner its authentic, well-preserved landscapes. DETAILS : Immerse yourself in Nature as you follow www.maison-nature-boult.eu is... the specially designed itineraries. 5 E SEEN... E v DAVID TRUILLARD PHOTOGRAPHER-ILLUSTRATOR “This photo was taken during the inaugural performance at the 2017 World Puppet YOU KNOW THE ARDENNES WHEN YOU’ WHEN ARDENNES THE KNOW YOU Theatres Festival on the Place Ducale, when the strange shapes and brilliant colours of the Picto Facto Company’s illuminated “Lampadophores” transformed this magnificent square into something magical. The first Saturday of the Festival is very important in the life of the city: it’s a great opportunity to meet with friends in an intense, unforgettable moment of festivity and joy.” SÉBastien BOLLICH ENTHUSIASTIC PHOTOGRAPHER “The Roc de la Tour is an emblematic site in the Ardennes that I love to photograph. I took this photo with the camera on the ground, because I wanted to capture the depth of the horizon as well as the rocks, to reveal the grandeur of the place. It’s a sublime, preserved site that we must continue to protect.” 6 Thomas GÉRARD AMBASSADOR OF THE ARDENNES vIDEO DIRECTOR WITH A PASSION Diaporama FOR PHOTOGRAPHY “As a Nature lover I always marvel a little more with each sortie in my native region: the Ardennes is bursting with riches. This photo was taken with a drone over the Vieilles-Forges lake when I was making a video entitled “Serenity”. We had started early in the morning when the sun was rising through the mist, giving the lake an unusual radiance. It was utterly calm and the feeling of peace was total. This image best expresses the feelings of well-being that fill me during my relaxing and contemplative excursions in the Ardennes.” Alysse thomé NATIvE OF THE ARDENNES, DEvOTED PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE CABARET vERT. “The queue for the campsite at the Cabaret Vert just before the doors open is always a scene of enthusiastic animation. For anyone wanting to discover our region, this cultural and musical festival has to be high on the list: for the four days it lasts, it is an anthology of the Ardennes in a single place. For me it’s essential.” Brigitte & DENIS Mignon WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS “This photo was taken in a secret location in the Sedan forest. In the early afternoon, after waiting all morning, we were delighted to see a female boar, accompanied by her young, approach us without apparently sensing our presence.