Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
France|May 2020
Fiona Young-Brown goes on the trail of the legendary Beast of Gévaudan through modern-day Haute-Loire and Lozère
Fiona Young-Brown
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

Driving through Lozère, you know instantly that you are in France’s most sparsely populated département. You will encounter far more sheep and cattle than you will people. Ignored by most guidebooks, Lozère, in southern France, has medieval villages and idyllic pastoral scenes which attract few visitors. Yet the region was once renowned throughout France, its notoriety even spreading to London and other major European cities. Back then, it was known by another name – Gévaudan.

From 1764 to 1767, a giant, murderous beast stalked the inhabitants of remote Gévaudan. In the space of just a few years, at least 100 women and children (and some reports claim as many as 300) were killed, with more seriously injured. The beast’s reign of terror came to an abrupt end in 1767, but it remains a strong part of local folklore, even though it is still shrouded in mystery.

Beastly beginnings

The best place to begin in search of the beast is Saugues, at the Fantastic Museum of the Beast of Gévaudan (Musée Fantastique de la Bête du Gevaudan). A series of 22 dioramas guides you from the first attack, through various attempts to capture the beast, to its eventual killing (tickets €5.50, musee-bete-gevaudan. com). Elsewhere around town, a variety of sculptures and carvings depict the beast, which some have claimed was a wolf, others a giant dog and still others an escaped hyena.

この記事は France の May 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は France の May 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

FRANCEのその他の記事すべて表示
Paindemic In Paris
France

Paindemic In Paris

For American actor and writer Alexander Burnett, a shortage of bread at his local boulangerie was one of the biggest challenges of lockdown in his adopted home city

time-read
5 分  |
December 2020
VEULES-LES-ROSES
France

VEULES-LES-ROSES

Between the white cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre and the bucolic landscapes of the Pays de Caux, discover a village that combines coast and country,

time-read
4 分  |
December 2020
Taking the BISCUIT
France

Taking the BISCUIT

France is known for its exquisite pâtisserie and extravagant gâteaux but the not-so-humble biscuit deserves recognition too

time-read
5 分  |
December 2020
PICTURE PERFECT PISTE
France

PICTURE PERFECT PISTE

After a decade away from the slopes Janet Brice finds her ski legs in val d'arly, a hidden gem in the shadow of Mount Blanc

time-read
8 分  |
December 2020
Let there BE LIGHT
France

Let there BE LIGHT

Lyon’s annual Fête des Lumières brightens up the darkest of December nights in spectacular fashion, finds David Atkinson on a winter visit to the Rhône capital

time-read
4 分  |
December 2020
Shop ‘til YOU DROP
France

Shop ‘til YOU DROP

In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience

time-read
4 分  |
December 2020
Floating YOUR BOAT
France

Floating YOUR BOAT

Spending a day on the River Seine in Paris, Heidi Fuller-love samples some of the city’s top entertainment that can be enjoyed afloat

time-read
6 分  |
December 2020
Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach
France

Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach

Enjoy this hearty dish from Bisous & Brioche, a cookbook shot on location in Burgundy

time-read
2 分  |
November 2020
A Moveable Feast
France

A Moveable Feast

Philip Sweeney embarks on a voyage gourmand along the Vallée de la Gastronomie travelling from Dijon to Marseille

time-read
4 分  |
November 2020
BOND RETOUR 7
France

BOND RETOUR 7

To celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite globe-trotting British intelligence officer in No Time to Die, Helen Parkinson rounds up five of James Bond’s top cross-Channel escapades

time-read
2 分  |
November 2020