シディアイユの丘のおすすめウォーキング＆ハイキングルート

What you don't see when you walk here: this lake exists thanks to sheer stubbornness. When the La Joyante River was dammed in the 1970s, no one believed the lake would ever amount to anything. Too isolated, too wild. But nature had other plans. Today, the water is so calm that you almost forget how much effort it once took to tame this landscape.

What you don't see when you walk here: this lake exists thanks to sheer stubbornness. When the La Joyante River was dammed in the 1970s, no one believed the lake would ever amount to anything. Too isolated, too wild. But nature had other plans. Today, the water is so calm that you almost forget how much effort it once took to tame this landscape.

You hear it before you see it: the water rushing past the rocks far below. The dam itself isn't a thing of beauty, but the contrast with the still lake above is precisely what makes it special.

Walking above the water Hidden among the greenery, you'll find this impressive suspension bridge connecting the two shores of Lac de Sidiailles. It wobbles slightly as you walk across it… The bridge is part of the walking path around the lake and offers one of the most beautiful views of the valley and the granite cliffs.

Hidden among moss and rocks lies this medieval castle. Quiet, mysterious, and almost swallowed up by nature. What many people don't know: beneath these ruins lies an ancient underground passage that once connected the castle to the village of Saint-Éloy-d'Allier. An escape route? A smuggling trail? No one knows for sure...

A viaduct in two parts. The first spans the Moulin Neuf road and the second spans the Arnon. It rises to a height of 55 meters and welcomes bungee jumpers who take off in front of the castle.

Castle in excellent condition, mainly built between the 12th and 15th centuries. It follows two previous buildings destroyed in the 10th and 12th centuries. Mazarin ordered in 1651, at the time of the Fronde, the destruction of part of its structure (entrance castle, top of its keep and certain areas of its ramparts). Its last owner, who died in 2020, tried to bequeath the castle to the Cher department, which refused due to the excessive cost of maintenance. The visit is possible every day between Easter and All Saints’ Day. Medieval weekends and thematic visits are also organized there during part of the summer.

Sidiailles Lake is an artificial lake that covers 90 hectares and supplies 35 municipalities with drinking water. It is possible to explore the paths that follow the banks of the Arnon and the Joyeuse.