Wild Swimming France - second edition

WILD SWIMMING FRANCE - Second edition

The best-selling Wild Swimming series returns to France for a hugely expanded and updated guide to the best places to cool off this summer, including 450 revised entries, 550 brand new places and 21 detailed new maps. Enjoy more detailed coverage in the existing regions and new regions in the North and Centre: Normandy, Paris, Champagne, Burgundy, Morvan, Creuse, Vienne, Charente, Limousin,  Périgord, Corrèze, Millevache and Auvergne.

Wild Swimming France takes you on an aquatic voyage into the wild heart of one of Europe’s most beautiful countries. In vast areas of unspoilt French countryside there is so much to discover, from the tranquil river beaches of the Ardèche and the secret canyons of the Languedoc, to the shimmering aquamarine pools of Corsica and the Alps.

This beautiful guide provides all the practical information you’ll need, from overview maps and directions, to grid references and parking locations. There are also hundreds of ideas for the best waterside campsites, riverside bistros and canoe rentals, plus tips on points of local interest, spots for families, places for campervans and even the most secret places for skinny dipping.

Swim beneath the great châteaux of the Loire and plunge into the azure-blue pools of Provence. Relax in the secret hot springs of the Pyrenees and discover the unspoilt crater lakes of the Mont-Dore. France has one of the most diverse and magnificent landscapes in Europe, with a cuisine and culture to match. Its rivers, lakes and waterfalls are sparkling clean and its summers are reliably hot – and it’s all just a train ride away.

This dazzling travel guide, now its second edition, combines engaging travel writing with spectacular photography to lure you off the beaten track to over 1,000 magical swimming locations, from classic destinations to local secrets you won’t find listed elsewhere.

Daniel Start is an award-winning writer and photographer, author of Wild Swimming, Hidden Beaches and the Wild Guide series. He has spent the last ten years camping and swimming around France. Married with a young daughter, he lives at the confluence of two rivers in rural Somerset. Wild Things Publishing was founded in 2011 and voted Britain’s best small publisher in 2019.

Table of Contents

1 Normandy & around Paris 18
2 Val de Loire 34
3 Morvan & Burgundy 48
4 Creuse & Vienne 60
5 Charente & Limousin 74
6 Millevaches & Auvergne 88
7 Périgord Vert & Blanc 100
8 Corrèze & Auvergne 114
9 Dordogne 130
10 Lot, Célé & Aveyron 144
11 Pyrénées Atlantiques 162
12 Corbières & Roussillon 176
13 Languedoc & Gard 190
14 Cévennes & Tarn 204
15 Ardèche 220
16 Jura & Haute Savoie 234
17 Drôme & Central Alps 248
18 Vaucluse & Provence 262
19 Var & Verdon 276
20 Alpes-Maritimes 298
21 Corsica 314