We dreamed of undertaking a GR, but taking 3 months off to do Santiago de Compostela or Stevenson, it was not possible 🤷 ♂️.
When we heard about the GR 3, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in France, just 1h15 from Lyon and super accessible because some stages are done on foot or by train, we decided to try the adventure!
Follow us on our walking road trip:
- Stage 1 from Aurec-sur-Loire to Bas-en-Basset on the left bank of the Loire,
- Stage 2 on the right bank the next day where we passed through Monistrol-sur-Loire and La Chapelle d'Aurec before reaching Aurec station.
From Aurec-sur-Loire station to Bas-en-Basset
- From the station, cross the footbridge of the village of Aurec, then follow the Loire along the leisure centre.
- We take the metal footbridges at a place called “le saut du chien”.
- In the direction of the D46 and cross the road continuing to the hamlet of Mayol. We go back down towards the Loire and walk along the river again, then we cross the road again to rise towards Le Cortial.
- We arrive at Bas-en-Basset via the hamlet of Lamure, and we approach the wild river. This stage ends by crossing the ponds of Bas-en-Basset named "biodiversity park" which is home to many species of birds.
Points of interest along the way:
Overnight stay in Bas-en-Basset
To sleep, we recommend the Vissaguet stopover gite:
And the house of banana trees:
Or for camping enthusiasts, you can pitch the tent at La Garenne campsite or at La Camargue campsite:
From Bas-en-Basset to Bas-Monistrol station
In the morning, here we go again, we take the link that allows us to cross the Loire and we go through the station of Bas-Monistrol to join the GR 302.
At the station, we can take a train directly to Aurec-sur-Loire on the Le Puy-en-Velay – Saint-Etienne line, but we decide to continue our journey on foot.
From Monistrol-sur-Loire to Aurec-sur-Loire
We cWe then proceed to the town of Monistrol-sur-Loire and cross the quiet little village of La Chapelle d'Aurec, before reaching Aurec-sur-Loire and its train station, for a quick return to our home.
This section offers beautiful views of the Monts du Forez.
To discover along the way
Download our leaflets concerning ideas for stays on the GR3 “source & Gorges de la Loire”
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