Photo : D Villafruela / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Gorges de la Loire
Before crossing the great plains that would make it famous, the Loire carves a stretch of gorges through the granite and sedimentary rocks of the Massif Central in the département that bears its name. The building of the Grangent dam, between 1955 and 1957, flooded the lower part of these gorges to form a long reservoir, now a regional nature reserve.
The medieval village of Saint-Victor-sur-Loire, built on a rocky peak encircled by a meander of the river, overlooks the lake and its small marina. The surrounding hillsides, still largely wooded, offer several viewpoints over the gorges and shelter protected natural heritage, from cliffs to wetlands.
The Saint-Étienne - Gorges de la Loire regional nature reserve has a network of paths around the lake, while the port of Saint-Victor offers sailing and rowing. The site is easy to visit in the fine season, just a few kilometres from the centre of Saint-Étienne.
