Photo of Natural Beauty
 

Throughout France there are several hundred places of such beauty that they have been officially listed as 'Sites of Natural Beauty'.If you are staying in the region of one or more of these we strongly recommend you find the time to visit.

Of course, there are lots of other places to visit that you will consider to be very beautiful, but which aren't officially listed!

 

Map showing positions of French Sites of Natural Beauty

Translations

You will notice we have used the original names for the locations. French translations for the key words are as follows:

  • Abîme : abyss
  • Aiguille : needle (of rock)
  • Aven : cave
  • Baie : bay (in sea)
  • Cap : cape (in sea)
  • Cascade : waterfall
  • Cirque : natural cliff surrounding valley
  • Col : mountain pass
  • Embouchure : mouth (or river)
  • Etang : lake, pond
  • Foret : forest
  • Gouffre : cave
  • Grotte : cave
  • Lac : lake
  • Pointe : point, headland