Photo : P.poschadel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Natural wonders · Aisne
Forêt de Retz
The forest of Retz covers about 13,000 hectares between the Aisne and the Oise, in a vast crescent centred on Villers-Cotterêts. It is one of the largest state forests in France, renowned for its beech woods, among the finest in the country.
The subsoil has shaped surprising rock formations, such as the Cave du Diable, where sandstone blocks form a maze ideal for walking. Alexandre Dumas, a native of Villers-Cotterêts, set several scenes of his novels in this forest, and many waymarked paths now cross it.
