Forez

[Ectopic]

Despite having toured in France for many years, this year we stumbled on an area that I seem to have missed. The Parc Naturel Regional de Livradois-Forez.

Very rural, hardly any traffic, brilliant twisty hilly roads, very pretty scenery. The D19 between Brioude and La Chaise-Dieu is probably as nice a biking road as I've ever been on. Looking on Google Street View, it seems the whole area is full of great roads too.

I'll be heading back that way next year (or the year after), maybe linking up with the Ardeches and the Cevennes too.

 

[Wapping]

It’s here:

 

[wessie]

I stumbled on it a few years ago, working my way down the middle of France as I went south from Vichy. As you mention my next destination was the Ardeche Gorge then to the Rhone at Avignon before heading north again. April 2017 it seems, looking at my archive. First big trip on my R1200RS bought in Sept 2016.

 

[leadfarmer]

Yep, not surprisingly I know the area quite well