Les Terres Rouges

Les Terres Rouges is 25 minutes’ drive from Troyes on the road towards the famed vineyards of the corking Champagne region; in a car, you can reach the edge of the 70,000-hectare Orient Forest Regional Natural Park in about 15 minutes, and if you venture on a little further you’ll come to three vast artificial lakes. Of those lakes, D'Orient, which has several beaches and serves as the area’s principal bird reserve, is primed for sailing, while Temple is the go-to for anglers, and Amance the place to head to for speedboat-based adventures such as waterskiing and wakeboarding. The cracking theme park of Nigloland is an easy 45 minutes' drive away too; here, kids (and grownups) can try out 37 rides spread around its four zones, namely the Canadian village, the Swiss village, the rock 'n' roll village and the magical village, one of which is home to France’s highest drop tower, which stands at a staggeringly lofty 100 metres.