Tour de France > Stage at Cérilly

The Tour route – off the beaten track

At the north-east of the Allier département, touching the Berry and the Bourbonnais, spreads the 11,000 hectare Tronçais forest, classified as the most beautiful oak forest of Europe. A world apart, loaded with history and tradition where exceptional trees grow, deer snort and birds of prey swoop...
This forest full of light, where well organised tree trunks grow straight as arrows, owes everything to Colbert. He organised the forest from 1675, to meet the wood requirements of the French Royal Navy. The remnants of the "futaie Colbert" (Colbert's Coppice), which only covers a small area of the forest, is classified with fifteen remarkable "lords" called the "Sentinelle", the "Saint Louis", the "Jumeaux" (twins); and the "Chêne carré" (Square Oak) …
The region offers visitors various possibilities for discovery, walks, accommodation and events with St Bonnet and Pirot, green farmland, with charming villages and medieval towns: Ainay-le-Château and Hérisson which host concerts and top class representations.

• Tourist information about Cérilly