Mystical places in France
5 legends · 4 cities
Cities
By kind of place
All places
Gévaudan
A historical region of southern France where, between 1764 and 1767, something killed around a hundred people — mostly women and children herding livestock. Witnesses described a beast the size of a calf, russet-furred with a black stripe along its back. Louis XV sent royal huntsmen and offered a reward larger than an official's yearly salary. The killings stopped after a local hunter, Jean Chastel, shot a large animal; what it was is still argued over.
Catacombs of Paris
An underground ossuary beneath Paris holding the remains of more than six million people, moved from the city's overflowing cemeteries in the late 18th century. The bones are stacked into the walls as patterns of skulls and femurs.
Carnac Stones
Over 3,000 standing stones set in long rows on the Brittany coast around 4500 BC. Why they were raised is unknown; Breton legend calls them a Roman legion turned to stone by Saint Cornelius.
Château de Brissac
The tallest château in France, seven storeys in the Loire valley. It carries the legend of the "Green Lady" — Charlotte de Brézé, killed in the 15th century, whose moaning is said to be heard in the tower at dawn.
Oradour-sur-Glane
A French village where an SS company killed almost the entire population in June 1944. On de Gaulle's order the ruins were left untouched as a memorial — burnt walls, rusting cars and sewing machines still where they stood.