Far from the affluence of large overcrowded cities and their popular monuments synonymous with long queues, there are ghost towns and villages in France that you can visit in complete peace of mind.
Vestiges of time, sometimes witnesses of a bruised past, collateral victims of galloping urbanization or of a nature that has become too invasive, these deserted towns offer a unique opportunity to visit off the beaten track.
Here are three abandoned cities located in metropolitan France, Corsica and even overseas.
Oradour-sur-Glane, a village that witnessed the Nazi horror
In this village located 22 km north of Limoges (Haute-Vienne), time stood still on June 10, 1944. That day, all of the 643 inhabitants were machine-gunned, then burned by the soldiers of the 2and Waffen SS division. The village will then be looted and burned.
For the first time in the history of France, it was decided to keep the village as it was in order to preserve its dramatic intensity. The materials of the buildings and the pavements were stabilized with resins, the colors were revived and fixed.
This desire to suspend this war crime in time will make the remains of this village accessible seven days a week from February to mid-December. From then on, Oradour-sur-Glane, will become known throughout the world. During a visit in March 1945, General de Gaulle recalled “that a place like this remains something common to all, something where everyone recognizes the common misfortune, the common will and the common hope” .
Occi, the abandoned Corsican village
Located 10 km east of Calvi (Haute-Corse), the ruins of Occi overlook the Mediterranean at nearly 400 meters above sea level. This superb village, which contains the ruins of about fifteen houses, offers its visitors a breathtaking panoramic view of the Corsican coast.
Occi served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the region who fled the Saracen attacks of the Middle Ages, but the small town, impractical to access and inhospitable, will see its last inhabitant die out in 1918. Occi will then be abandoned in favor of the village from Lumio, closer to the waters.
An association set up to save it restored the old church in 2002 and has undertaken to ensure that Occi is only accessible on foot and not subject to commercial exploitation. Three trails lead to the abandoned village, each of which is also designed for a walk with children every day, all year round.
sailor island and its abandoned colored houses
Abandoned in the 1960s, it is a ghost town that is reborn every summer to the delight of tourists. Located in the archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Île aux Marins, also called Île aux Chiens, had 600 inhabitants, exclusively fishing families from Normandy. They were known by the nickname of “red feet” because of the color of their feet reddened by the cold.
An earthquake on November 18, 1929 caused a tidal wave to move houses and submerge part of the island. This disaster led to the final departure of the survivors to the town of Saint-Pierre.
Inhabited from May to September since the 1980s, the town is experiencing a resurgence of activity following the renovations of fishermen’s houses famous for their bright colors and original decorations. The gray house, the lighthouse, the Maison Jézéquel, the Archipelitude museum… since 2011 eight buildings on the island, several buildings are protected as historical monuments.