The French Ardennes in 4 days
The Meuse winds through such tight loops here that road and railway have to tunnel through the hills to follow it. Along its banks, quartzite rocks with legendary names, Roc la Tour, the Dames de Meuse, the Four Sons of Aymon, rise from a 150,000-hectare forest where the wild boar is both king and emblem.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Place Ducale, Charleville-Mézièresfree · about 1 hA royal square laid out after 1606, ringed by brick and stone pavilions over arcaded cafés, near a puppet clock that plays every hour.
- Afternoon
Arthur Rimbaud Museumabout 1 hIn the 1626 ducal mill on the Meuse, manuscripts, letters, photographs from Harar and a travel trunk follow the poet born here in 1854.
Day 2
- Morning
Trans-Ardennes Greenwayfree · half a dayA flat, car-free, surfaced path along the Meuse towpath from Givet to Mouzon, past slate-roofed Fumay, Monthermé's rocks, locks and barges.
- Late afternoon
Roc la Tourfree · 2 to 3 hA jumble of quartzite columns at 408 metres above Monthermé, said to be the Devil's unfinished castle, reached by a steep woodland path.
Day 3
- Morning
Les Dames de Meusefree · 2 to 3 hThree rocky spurs above a loop of the Meuse between Laifour and Anchamps, with a steep path along the ridge between viewpoints.
- Afternoon
Lac des Vieilles-Forgesfree · half a dayA 150-hectare lake in the forest twenty minutes from Charleville, with a supervised sandy beach in summer and an 11 km path around the shore.
Day 4
- Morning
Rocroifree · about 1 hA five-pointed star of ramparts on the plateau, begun under Henry II and strengthened by Vauban, with streets radiating from the parade ground.
- Afternoon
Sedan Castleabout 2 hBegun in 1424 and enlarged for two centuries, often billed as Europe's largest fortified castle, with vaulted halls, wall walks and Renaissance bastions.
Where to sleep in the French Ardennes
- Le Pélican · 60-€80 a night
- Hôtel Inn Design Sedan · 60-€75 a night
- Le Franco-Belge · €80 a night
- Hôtel de Paris · €95 a night
- Le Val de Vence · €85 a night
- Hôtel Le Château Fort de Sedan · 140-€220 a night
- Domaine château Le Risdoux · 120-€180 a night
- Château de l'Aviette · 120-€180 a night
Plan this trip
Hotel prices per room per night, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.