La Meuse

Fortified by Vauban in the 17th century, the city of Verdun boasts a double belt of forts that made it the most powerful French fortress in 1914. This historic city was also the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, and today is home to the famous Verdun citadel and numerous commemorative monuments.

A few kilometres away, the town of Bar-le-Duc is famous for its Renaissance château, its medieval quarter and its delicious redcurrant jam. Lovers of castles and the Renaissance period will also appreciate the town of Ligny-en-Barrois, which also boasts a superb Gothic church.

Other villages not to be missed: Avioth, dominated by its basilica dedicated to Notre-Dame; Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, home to Europe's largest necropolis (an American cemetery covering 52 hectares); Montmédy, a 17th-century fortified town whose citadel offers panoramic views over the region; and Commercy, famous for its madeleines and 18th-century château.

Orchards with cherry, raspberry, redcurrant and mirabelle trees, and the Woëvre plain, which is home to cattle farming and cereal crops (wheat, rape, maize), seem to be the only places in the Meuse where man has acted on nature. Outside these areas, water and forest dominate the landscape. The Meuse forest is ubiquitous and offers exceptional plant and animal diversity.

The Argonne forest (from the Breton "Argoat", meaning "land of woods") is home to centuries-old beech and oak trees, giving this massif the appearance of a green island. The Hauts de Meuse plateau is also largely covered by beech forest, but its permeable soil favours the presence of oak, hornbeam, maple, ash and wild cherry trees and shrubs such as dogwood, hawthorn and hazel.

The half-continental, half-oceanic climate favours the appearance of carpets of anemones in spring and sees periwinkle, orchids and grasses bloom throughout the département. This forest flora is rich in animals such as wild boar, roe deer, doe and stag, which are just as interesting to naturalists as they are to gourmets.

Wetlands are just as common in the Meuse département as forested areas. The many rivers (the Saulx and the Ornain in the south, the Aire and the Meuse in the centre, the Chiers and the Othain in the north and the Orne in Woëvre), lakes (the largest being the Lac de Madine, covering 1,100 hectares) and ponds provide fish breeding grounds and bird sanctuaries that are much appreciated by nature lovers.

Meuse cuisine is rich in tradition and flavour. Traditional dishes include quiche lorraine, pâté lorrain and bacon soup, often enriched with cabbage and white beans. Rich in forests and waterways, the Meuse also offers a wide choice of fish (pike-perch, pike, trout, etc.) and game (wild boar, deer, roe deer, etc.), which you may be delighted to try with Meuse truffles, less famous than the Périgord truffle but just as tasty and rare.

For those with a sweet tooth, there's a wide choice of local specialities: tarts and jams (mirabelle plum, blueberry and redcurrant), madeleines from Commercy, dragées from Verdun, croquets and rochers from Saint-Mihiel, not forgetting the Bar-le-Duc speciality: gooseberries seeded in a quill pen (using a recipe from the 14th century).

And as eating well goes hand in hand with drinking well, discover the local vin gris (made from Gamay and Auxerrois vines replanted by a handful of producers after the Great War), Mirabelle plum brandy and the many local craft beers.