meuse - brochure

www.tourisme-meuse.com

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La Meuse is possibly one of France’s best kept secrets, but take a closer look and youwill really wonder why. In the Lorraine, between the rolling hills of Champagne andthe Vosges Mountains with the Ardennes to the north, you really are in the heart ofEurope.

The magic of the Meuse

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The strategic location of the Meuse explains in part why so many defining events in European historyhave been played out in this relatively small area. It also explains the rich diversity of landscapes fromforests to hills, lakes and river valleys which can be enjoyed in so many different ways.

In the land of good living, many of France’s regions lay claim to their own particular speciality. In theMeuse, you can take your pick from several. For an area lying between Champagne and Alsace, the Meusehas both vines and hops and produces a fine range of its own beers and wines. Lorraine was France’smajor truffle producing region long before the Perigord or Dordogne and words like Mirabelle, madeleineand dragée are second nature to any self respecting francophile “foodie”.

Getting to the Meuse is surprisingly easy. A little over 3 hours by motorway from Calais, access by carfrom the major channel ports and the tunnel could not be more straightforward. The completion of theTGV Est in 2007 puts the area within an hour’s journey of the French capital.


June 2007 signals the opening of the TGV Est Europeen linking Paris withLuxembourg and Strasbourg. With brand new trains travelling at up to 320 kmh the Meuse will be just 1 hour from the French capital with itsconnections to the Eurostar. Travelling via Paris couldn’t be easier. From theEurostar Terminal at Gare du Nord, it is just a short walk to Gare de l’Estand the TGV. There is also a service from Marne la Vallée (Disneyland).

Arrival in the Meuse is at the purpose built station midway between Verdun and Bar-le-Duc on thefamous “Voie Sacrée”. You can literally travel from the future back into history in just a few steps.The new TGV Meuse Station is almost in the dead centre of the county meaning you only have ashort distance to travel in any direction. The Argonne Forest to the west, Verdun and Stenay to thenorth, due east to the Lac de Madine or south for Bar-le-Duc and Vaucouleurs, the lands of Joan ofArc. You don’t even need a car to be waiting on arrival. Footpaths and cycle ways fan out in all direc-tions from the station so you can get right on with enjoying stay before the train has even pulledaway.

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David HowardAfter 10 long years in France’s deepest south, tired of summer scorched earth, bur-ning heat and the incessant winds that blow throughout so much of France’s south,which no guide book ever alludes to, I was tired of it all. I longed for the greennessof grass, for the morning dew and forest, not of inflammatory pine but real forests of

all the trees of my childhood: oak, beech and elm to name but a few. I longed for brooks andrivers of clear running water, not the brackish yellow stagnant water holes of midsummer in the‘midi’.As luck would have it, my work took me travelling through northern France I discovered a magi-cal, almost mystical corner of this incredible country, lost from the madding crowd, known butto a discerning few. I stopped my car at a small village inn and asked which department I wasin. “You’re in the Meuse”, the patron declared, thus my romance with the Meuse began.Five years later, living in a land of forest, meadows and streams, the rolling hills swathed in forestgreen, where cows seem to outnumber people and where often in country lanes tractors outnum-ber cars, I cannot imagine living anywhere else. The rustic charm of village life, the yellow sands-tone, the brick and timber used so often in construction, the absence of the curse of concretewarms my heart. The Meuse is a land of seasons, the snows of Christmas lead to spring flowers.The summers are generally long and dry, nostalgic of childhood summer memories revisited.Autumn, my favourite season: mauves, orange and golden brown of the forest, home to deerand wild boar, clear autumn morning light, the slight crispness of the meadows underfoot, eachday a new and unfolding pleasure; each day with a promise. The Meuse for all its singularcharms is totally accessible. Calais is close enough to encourage the British to spend long lazyweekends sampling the cuisine, wandering down country lanes, discovering lost villages, butmost of all just chilling out. The Meuse is just that kind of place; a land where quality of lifecomes first.

Penny WoodsAfter years of reading French Lifestyle magazi-nes, visiting property exhibitions and watchingendless life changing, “no going back” style programmes on TV, we finally decided to make

the move to France. We decided to look for where we could run a Bed & Breakfast andperhaps a lake for fishing within an optimum travelling distance of3-4 hours from Calais. Not only did we find the exact property we were looking for in theMeuse but we immediately fell in love with the area because of thefeeling of space, freedom and clean air that the countryside andforests here give you. The small country towns like Stenay remain largely uncommerciali-sed and traditionally French.We left our jobs, sold our house and moved with our children petsand furniture to our new life in rural France in January 2005 andhaven’t looked back since.


land of history :World Centre for Peace and Human Rights -Underground Citadel - American cimetery at Romagne - Marguerre Camp

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For centuries, the natural frontier between France and the Holy Roman Empire, history has left its imprint onthe Meuse in the shape of its wonderful architecture. The renaissance style of Bar-le-Duc, fortifications designedby Vauban and Séré de Rivières and the grand style of the Dukes of Lorraine andtheir summer residence at Commercy.Conflict has never been far from the history of the Meuse. It is from Vaucouleursthat Joan of Arc began her rallying march to support the French Dauphin inChinon while it was in Varennes that the fleeing Louis XVI was apprehended, justyards from the waiting Austrian troops.But it is at Verdun where the Meuse’s name is most closely linked to tragedy and conflict. During one of the most bloody periods of the FirstWorld War, the German advance on Verdun was held up and finally repulsed over a 300 days period from February to December 1916. Over700,000 soldiers and French civilians were killed or injured and the physical effects can still be clearly seen by simply driving around thearea today. The rolling hills and fields are quite literally shaped andpot marked from the intensity of the bombardment.2006 has witnessed the 90th anniversary which has been comme-morated by a series of events based on reconciliation and unders-tanding. Since 1987 Verdun has been the UN World Capital ofPeace, Liberty and Human Rights.

The Ossuary at Douaumont

Joan of Arc - The arrest of Louis XVI at Varenne in Argonne


Gourmet Heaven : some flavours of the Meuse

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For an area so at one with nature it is not sur-prising that much of the local cuisine is heavilybased around the fruits of the forest and thestream. Game such as boar and venison feature fre-quently on the menu as do trout, pike or zander.Nothing more typifies the “goût de la terre” than the truf-fle – the black gold extracted from the forest floor using snif-fer dogs. The forest also means berries and for a taste of theexotic, there is the “Meuse caviar” – a redcurrant jelly madeto a 14th century recipe removing the pips with a quill!Beyond the forest, the orchards groan under the weight offruit, especially mirabelles (cherry plums), the basis of bothjams and the famous “eau de vie.” Of course being inLorraine means eating “quiche” but have you ever tried“potée lorraine” – a stew made from smoked pork, cabbageand potatoes?The Madeline cake is an invention of the Meuse. There areconflicting stories as to its origin but what is no doubt is that

this breakfast delicacy was, and still ismade in Commercy. No wedding, christe-

ning or communion is complete in Francewithout the gift of sugared almonds –

dragées – and this is one of Verdun’s otherclaims to fame.

The Meuse has a beer making tradition which dates backcenturies. Today, it is mainly the micro breweries whichkeep production going, many of whom willingly open theirdoors to visitors and fellow aficionados alike. One of thesebreweries in Verdun not only makes its own but stocksaround 250 others brews which can taste under one roof.Meanwhile, the wines from the Côtes de Meuse have theirown fans around the world. Light, fruity yet full of flavour,these fines, once the staple “vin de table” throughoutFrance, have now evolved their own individual tastes andare the perfect compliment to the strong flavours of Meuseregional cuisine.

Some specialities of the Meuse


Leisure pursuits in the Meuse

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As you might expect from an area which encompasses a Regional Nature Park, 37 forests, a lake, 2 canals and4,500 km of rivers, the choice of outdoor pursuits is limited only by your imagination. Follow your nose on anetwork of 4,500 km of footpaths or one of 25 prepared cycle routes; take to the saddle at one of 16 horse ridingcentres; take to the water on a gentle canal boat holiday or a little quicker with wind surfing or water skiing.Golfers will not be disappointed nor will anglers with over 8000 acres of lake and some of the best fly fishingrivers in Europe.If your pleasure is simply admiring beautifully laid out parks and gardens, then in the Meuse you can choosefrom country parks to chateau or abbey gardens. For those with a sense of the unusual, the Meuse can also pro-vide you with everything from pot holing to astronomy or wild boar hunts.

The great indoorsYou can live the life of baronial splendour or get really close to nature when choosing your accommodation inthe Meuse. There are chateaux which have made the transformation into comfortable hotels or restaurantswhich uphold the region’s fine culinary heritage and there are campsites right on the water’s edge or in theheart of the forest. The Meuse’s strength lies in its family sized hotels, chambres d’hôtes and gîtes. Here youwill find individually styled rooms above a fine restaurant or a bed and breakfast with its own swimming pool,converted from an old fortified mansion – each has its own particular character and charm but all are gradedby the local authority for the quality of their welcome.


Request for information, to be returned to: Comité Départemental du Tourisme Hôtel du Département - BP 514 - 55012 BAR-LE-DUC Cedex - Tel. +33 (0)3.29.45.78.40

E-mail : [email protected] - Fax: +33 (0)3.29.45.78.45

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yes, I wish to receive the Meuse Département Tourist Committee newsletter* yes, I wish to receive the following free information:

* According to the Data Protection law of 6th January 1978, you have the right to access, modify,rectify and remove data concerning you which have been processed on computer. The informa-tion which has been gathered is the property of CDT Meuse (the Meuse Département TouristCommittee) and will not be divulged to any third party.

Events Guide

Accommodation and Restaurants Guide

Tourism Professional Guide

Discovery Trips

Welcome to the Countryside

Gîtes de France Guide

Logis de France Guide

Remembrance Tourism

Short stays and Excursion ideas 2007

Tourist map

Practical Guide

“Ligier Richier Route” Guide

Guide to Museums

Tourism and Fishing Guide

Practical “Biking” Guide 25 circuits in the Meuse

Comité Départemental du Tourisme - Hôtel du Département - BP 514 - 55012 BAR-LE-DUC CEDEXTél. 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40 - Fax. 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 45E-mail : [email protected] Site : www.tourisme-meuse.com

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