The Oise - Pays de France Regional Nature Reserve
©PNR /
Abbaye de Chaalis Lake, Oise
Located in the south of the department, straddling the Oise and the Val d'Oise, the Oise - Pays de France Regional Nature Reserve welcomes you!
The Oise - Pays de France Regional Nature Reserve is a living, inhabited region whose natural and cultural heritage is well-known, yet fragile.
From biodiversity to arts and crafts to economic activities, discover the innumerable facets of this unique region.
The park covers some 60,000 hectares, on 44 municipalities of the Oise department and 15 of the Val d'Oise department, for a total population of 110,000 inhabitants.
This essentially rural, wooded region boasts a remarkably rich nature and heritage. Steeped in history, it retains relics dating back to prehistoric times. The three forests of Chantilly, Ermenonville and Halatte, kingdom of the stag, are the green "lungs" of the northern Ile de France region.
Farming and market gardening are greatly appreciated within the reserve, producing cereals, vegetables, cress and lime-blossom honey.
But this environment, near as it is to Paris, remains fragile. For this reason, for instance, the Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Reserve manages 2 forest sites that are part of the European-wide Natura 2000 network, for the preservation of biodiversity and the promotion of the region's natural heritage. The park is home to numerous species of rare and protected plants and animals.
The region's architectural treasures include menhirs, an oppidum, arenas, abbeys, Romanesque and Gothic churches, and such grand estates and sites of interest as the Château de Chantilly, the royal town of Senlis and its cathedral, the abbeys of Royaumont, Chaalis and Le Moncel, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau Park.
Within the regional reserve, you can enjoy a wide range of activities, alone or with family and friends: tourist routes, guided tours, walking, horse riding, biking, golf, hot-air balloon rides, theme parks, workshops and exhibitions at the Maison du Parc, etc.
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For more information, visit the Web site of the Oise - Pays de France Regional Nature Reserve. Or contact the Maison du Parc (park visitor's centre):
Château de la Borne Blanche |
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We also recommend...
- An impressionistic garden in Saint Paul
- The Domaine de Chantilly's restored gardens
- The Chaalis Abbey, one hour from the Beauvais Airport and Paris
- The Bay of the Somme, the pride of Picardy!
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau Park in Ermenonville
- Gerberoy, village of a thousand rose bushes
- Discover the "Beauvaisis" by foot
- The Princes' Vegetable Garden
- The Domaine de Chantilly's "Hamlet"
- Your stay ideas
