I'm taking you for a walk today in the Grand-Est region of France. To be more precise, around Baccarat, a town world-famous for its crystal.
Baccarat
Baccarat is a beautiful town 50 km from Nancy, in the Meurthe valley that will catch your eye even if you're just passing through by car. At the entrance to the town centre, as you cross the bridge, the view from the bridge gives you an idea of the atmosphere.
On either side of the bridge, the Meurthe of course, but the very well maintained banks (photos on the front page and below) will welcome you for a good meditative walk in the greenery and/or why not a little picnic?
The Eglise on one sideThe church, destroyed during the Second World War, was rebuilt in the mid-1950s in a modern style (as you can see below) under the sign of the triangle symbolising the Holy Trinity. If you're interested in art and stained glass, you should visit the interior of this church, which is made up of over 20,000 pieces of coloured Baccarat crystal in more than 150 different shades, the only one of its kind in the world.
On the other side, you won't want to miss the town hallThis splendid 1924 building was inspired by Flemish houses. Note the 4 buttons sculpted on the façade, corresponding to the 4 glassmaking trades (glassmaker - cutter - gilder - glass machine operator).
That's enough to give you a flavour of the town. Not forgetting, of course, a visit to the Baccarat crystal museum, as well as the shops in the surrounding area, which are not to be missed.
By the way, do you know the difference between glass and crystal? In a nutshell, crystal is glass enriched with lead oxide, which increases its density and reflections and gives it its sound. Other metallic oxides (copper, gold, cobalt, etc.) can be added to give it one or more colours - in short, it's an art.
The Pierre Percée lake
After this little discovery of Baccarat, it's about 20 km away that I suggest you start your 1st walk or hike (it all depends on your training and / or your energy at the time 😉 ) to the Pierre Percée lake.
It's the 3rd largest lake in Lorraine with almost 300 hectares and a 32km perimeter! (You'll understand my parenthesis above 😰).
It is an artificial lake, created by the construction of the Vieux-Pré dam. You may read or hear about "Little Canada", as the flooded valleys give the lake a distinctive "maple leaf" shape.
The whole area around the lake is covered in forest, making it a particularly popular spot for walkers and hikers. You can walk 7 to 8 hours around the entire lake. A breath of fresh air 😍 ! And at the end of the day there are some lovely sunsets. What more could you want after a 7-hour walk? Well, if 7 hours is too long, you can always turn back at any time and find your car in the car park near the dam.
If you really want to tour a lakeI suggest you opt for smaller lakes (and yes, you have to be clever😁). To do this, you can head north, a few kilometres away from the lake. not far from Pierre Percée in the Pays de Lacs region, and you'll have a choice as you can see on the map !
Personally, my wife and I chose to go a little further east, still in the spirit of a forest hike, with the Nideck waterfall as our goal.
The Nideck waterfall
It's quite possible to make the return trip to the waterfall without having to do the whole 11km (but that's no fun), which would then be about 3km. But the waterfall is actually quite nice to see, at 25 metres high, it's quite a nice sight to take a break from during the walking tour. It's said that in winter it's even more beautiful when the falls are partially frozen.
This trail is around 11km long, with no great difficulty in terms of altitude difference, and the route through the forest is pretty nice, as you can see, even in the pouring rain. (Check out my instagram profile)
What's more, although you'll have to climb the steep path a bit, the tour offers you the chance to see the Nideck castle. A 13th-century vestige in 2 parts, Bas-Nideck and Haut-Nideck, right in the middle of the forest. That said, the remains are completely accessible by car, with a car park available.
So much for this little photo outing in the Baccarat region.
There's plenty to do for nature lovers, with walks, lakes, forests, hills, mountains and all sorts of related activities. You can visit this page to follow Dragonstreet Photography's diary.
Have you ever visited the region? What struck you most?
See you soon,
Photographically,
David
