Visit Lac de Vassivière and reconnect with nature.

The lac de Vassivière or Vassivière Lake is one of France’s largest artificial lakes, a large man-made reservoir of about 10 square kilometres.

It can be found on the Plateau de Millevaches in the départements of Creuse and Haute-Vienne, just over an hour from our Chambre d’hôte.

The lake was constructed after World War II and is the product of two dams in the valley of the Maulde River. provides water supplies, hydroelectricity, and leisure facilities.

The lac de Vassivière is surrounded by more than 7,600 hectares (19,000 acres) of land of ecological or natural interest. These present the full range of landscapes characteristic of the Plateau de Millevaches: peat bog, wetland, heath and forest. The bogs, in particular, are unique and fragile small ecosystems, composed of many strata of plant material, and forming a carbon sink. They are the sources of many of the streams and rivers that flow from the region.

The climate is heavily influenced by the elevated, inland location. Milevaches winters are cold with snowfalls heavy enough for some winter sports. Spring is generally cool and wet, and summer is warm and pleasant, albeit with occasional fierce thunderstorms. Autumn often brings a period of considerable sun and warmth.

The lac de Vassivière is the 16th largest lake in France by area, but sixth among the artificial lakes, and tenth among fresh water lakes.

The Lake is entirely encircled by roads and footpaths. As well as guided tours by boat, there is a free water taxi on the lake.

We spent the day wandering around the lake where there were many spots to take in the views, have a walk, stop for lunch or undertake some of the many watersports on offer.  Our visit was out of season so we just took in the views, had a wander and then had some lunch at a lovely bistro in the centre of Royere-de-Vassivière.  L’Atelier bar/bistro was super busy despite being out of season, so if you fancy lunch here it would be advisable to book ahead.

The bistro was full of locals, a sound testament to the quality of the cuisine, and even though they were very busy and it was late, the staff still managed to squeeze us in.  A great little find.

The official website can be found at https://www.tourisme-creuse.com/lac-de-vassiviere/

The information for this blog came from Wikipedia

For other places to visit, see our page regarding the Local Area.