Le Bessat: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Marked trails as well as the GR7 and GR42 long-distance hiking trails are signposted in Le Bessat.

Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Le Bessat can first get to know the village.

Trails and Landscape

The easy circular hike “Les Rochettes – Le Bessat no. 1” is 7.2 kilometres long and takes around 2 hours and 15 minutes. It starts and ends at Le Tremplin, leads through a fir forest and offers views of the Mézenc.

The “La Grande Traversée des Monts du Pilat” connects the areas of Burdignes, Saint-Régis-du-Coin and Le Bessat. In winter, this route has a variant for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

The “Sentier no. 10 Marcellin Champagnat” is a hiking trail in the Parc naturel régional du Pilat and is marked in white and brown in both directions. The “Tour du Haut Pilat” route leads from the Croix de Chaubouret via the La Madone viewpoint down to Le Bessat. After crossing Le Bessat, the route joins the GR42.

The “La Maison des Gardes et la Porte de Fer – Le Bessat no. 3” route passes the Le Pré Dorel clearing and the Bachat there before continuing to the Maison des Gardes.

Winter and Exercise

The Domaine Nordique Le Bessat – Les Grands Bois offers classic cross-country skiing and skating as well as snowshoeing on groomed, signposted and secured trails and paths. Access is available via La Croix de Chaubouret, Le Tremplin and Les Trois Croix.

The Espace Sports d'Orientation du Bessat offers orienteering courses of varying difficulty with 70 permanently marked control points. The Espace Nordique des Monts du Pilat includes hiking, nature activities, Nordic walking, orienteering and biathlon. All activities at this Espace Nordique are supervised by state-certified guides.

Nature and Activities

The Plan d'eau du Tremplin is located on the edge of the Les Grands Bois forest. Fishing is possible there in a pond fed by the Furan River.

Cap Oxygène offers an outdoor Balnéo-bois area with a Nordic bath, a Russian banya and a cold-water fountain. Seasonal outdoor activities there include hiking, snowshoeing, orienteering, Nordic walking, archery and wooden games.

The game “Gouttelette – Sur le chemin de l’eau” introduces children to Le Bessat and its secrets in a fun way through puzzles and is recommended for children aged 5 to 11. At weekends, the Syndicat d’Initiative du Bessat provides information about hiking, mountain biking, orienteering and Nordic activities in and around Le Bessat.

Culture and History

The present-day church of Le Bessat was opened in August 1920. The Croix de Chaubouret is a historic cross erected in 1875 and stands at a historically important crossing between the Loire and Rhône valleys. The Grand Bachat served as a communal washhouse.

More local pages: Saint-Michel-Sur-Rhône, Saint-Georges-de-Baroille, Nervieux, Coutouvre, Montverdun, Saint-Julien-D'oddes, Luré, Rive-De-Gier.

To the main travel overview: Loire.