Northern France has vast areas of forest just waiting to be explored – by foot, on bike or by horseback. Best known are the Forêt de Compiègne and Forêt de Chantilly, but other great green spaces include the Forêt d’Halatte, Forêt de Retz, Forêt de Saint-Gobain, Forêt de Crécy, Forêt de Normal and Forêt de Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. 

It’s also in Hauts-de-France that you’ll find no less than four Regional Natural Parks –defined as inhabited rural areas recognised for their landscapes and heritage but also their vulnerability. These are the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale on the coast, the Parc Naturel Régional Oise-Pays de France between Paris and Compiègne, and, on the border with Belgium, the Parc Naturel Régional de l’Avesnois and the Parc Naturel Régional Scarpe-Escaut.

Other natural spaces not to miss include the Réserve Naturelle du Romelaere with its ponds and peat bogs, and the Réserve du Parc du Marquenterre bird reserve with its dunes, forests and marshes. 

And your immersion in nature can be extended into your stay here as a whole – get the most peaceful of night’s sleeps in the treetops at Les Grands Chênes in Raray, for instance, and do your body a whole world of good by eating fresh, local, organic food, including creative dishes prepared using home-grown flowers at La Table du Jardinier at the Jardins de Valloires.
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