Aerial Views of Central France

In this excellent drone video by Lyon Drone Services, you'll see the great city of Lyon, France as it appeared virtually empty during the Covid-19 panedemic in 2020.  Located at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers about 470 km (around 300 mi.) southeast of Paris, Lyon is the center of France's second-largest metropolitan area.  The video features stunning footage of the city's riverfront, the impressive Basilica of Fourvière in the hills above the city, and the empty Place Bellecour, one of France's largest public squares.  

Chateau Chambord, which sits in the Loire River Valley of Central France, is frequently considered to be the greatest castle in the country. It was constructed in the 16th century as a hunting lodge for the French King Francis I, although it was never completed. Top contributor Freeway Prod shot drone footage of Chambord for a national French TV show. Prepare to be amazed by the bird's eye views of this French Renaissance architectural marvel, one of the Loire Valley's top tourist destinations.

Check out these amazing aerial views of France's Jura Mountains, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot StarEye.  The mountains lie north of the Western Alps, forming part of the border between France and Switzerland.  On the French side, they cover much of Franche-Comté, a historical region that corresponds to four departments of modern France.  Their highest peak is France's Crêt de la Neige, which has a summit elevation of about 1.7k meters above sea level or around 5.6k ft.  The video was shot over the Spring and Summer months.

In connection with a French TV show, top contributor Freeway Prod created this magnificent drone video of the famous French castle Château de Villandry and its gardens.  The chateau is one of the more well known landmarks in the Loire River Valley of central France, home to many of the world's top Renaissance castles.  It was built in the early 1500's on the ruins of an older structure.  The chateau is located just outside the Loire-Anjou-Touraine regional park in the Indre-et-Loire department.

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner Alexandre Velluet x Scandia Productions
  used a DJI Mavic 3 Cine to create this stunning drone video of one of France's natural treasures: the volcanoes of Auvergne.  Formally known as the Chaîne des Puys, this is a chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and other similar geological features which runs through a section of the Massif Central, a highlands area in the south-central part of the country.  While the volcanoes are technically not extinct, the last known eruption occurred about 6,000 years ago.  

In this video, Drone-pictures gives us a beautiful bird's eye view of the magnificent Chateau Chenenceau.  Situated in the heart of the Loire River Valley of west-central France, Chenenceau is considered one of the world's greatest Rennaissance castles.  The current structure dates to the 15th century.  It took much of its current shape in the 16th century, after the French King Henry II gave it to his mistress, the formidable Diane de Poitiers.  It is has had a protected landmark status since the mid-1800's.

Contributor FreD ...///... created this haunting aerial video of Oradour-sur-Glane, a small French village in central France that was the scene of one of the worst World War II atrocities in Western Europe.  In June, 1944, troops of the Waffen-SS came through the town to reinforce the German positions in Normandy following the Allied D-Day landing.  For reasons still not entirely clear, they massacred 642 residents of the town, mostly women and children.  While the village was rebuilt nearby, the original site was preserved in memorial. 

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner Alexandre Velluet x Scandia Productions brings us this stunning drone video of a famous lighthouse on the western coast of France.  It's called Chassiron Lighthouse, and it's on island of Oléron in the Charente-Maritime Department.  Built in 1836, the lighthouse is still operational, although it's now automated.  The lighthouse is situated at the northern tip of the island, at the entrance of the Pertuis d'Antioche, a strait which is home to the important port of La Rochelle.      
 

The Loire River is the longest waterway in France, a country known in part for its rivers.  Running entirely within France's borders, the Loire stretches a total of just over 1k km (about 630 miles), rising in Central France and discharging into the Atlantic Ocean at the Bay of Biscay.  It runs through the very heart of historical France; the Loire Valley includes hallowed towns such as Orleans, Tour, and Nantes, as well as many of France's most famous chateaus, such as as Chenonceau and Chambord.

Tarik Kiko Mavic Pro created this awesome aerial look at Château d'Ussé, a very famous French castle.  It's located in the Indre-et-Loire Department (region) of Central France, on the outskirts of the Chinon Forest.  The present castle was completed early in the 17th century on the site of an 11th century Norman fort.  It is considered to be of mixed Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance design, reflecting the transition that was occurring between the former and the latter during its construction.  

Tarik Kiko Mavic Pro used a DJI Mavic Pro to create this stunning aerial view of Château de Serrant, one of the great castles of France's famed Loire River valley.  It's near the town of Angers in the country's Maine-et-Loire department, a bit to the southwest of Paris.  The current chateau structure was built on the ruins of a medieval era fortress, and took most of its present form in the 17th century.  Unlike most of the Loire Valley chateaux, the Château de Serrant remains in private hands.  

Check out this beautiful drone video of an iconic chateau town in the Burgundy region of east-central France, compliments of contributor AdventurousDrone.  The town is called Châteauneuf, and it's located in Côte-d'Or, one of the departments which make up the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of the country.  The chateau in its current form dates to the 15th century ownership by the Burgundian nobleman Philippe Pot, who received the chateau from the famous Duke of Burgundy Philipe the Good.  

Shot with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro, this aerial piece by LeVoyagedesKoumoul features the magnificent shoreline of and waters off the Loire Atlantique Department in western France. The piece was made to bring awareness to conservation in the region via the group Bretagne Vivante, or Living Brittany (note that the Brittany region is immediately to the north of here). Castelli Beach, where the piece was filmed, is known for its sandy beaches and small coves which are sometime inaccessible due to erroding shoreline. 

Check out this aerial view of one of the lesser known castles of France's Loire River Valley.  The Château de La Roche is situated in the commune of Saint-Priest-la-Roche, which is part of the Loire department in the heart of west central France.  While the castle once overlooked the Loire River, it now sits on an island created by dam projects on the great river.  The castle dates to the 13th century, although it fell into disuse by the 17th century due to problems with flooding along the river.  

Here's a video from a small town in the Limousin region of Central France, compliments of Maxlhvideos.  It's called Crozant, and it's part of the Creuse Department.  This is the historical region of Limousin, which was consolidated into the new official region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in a major overhaul of the French territorial system in 2014.  The largely rural Limousin is known as much as anything for its farms, as much as anything for its cattle farms.  The town of Crozant lies on the banks of the Creuse River, a tributary of the Veine.  

Contributor FreD ...///... created this beautiful drone video of a castle in western France.  Saint-Mesmin's Castle is located near a town of the same name in Vendée, one of the departments that makes up the Pays de la Loire region south of Brittany.  The structure is a 13th century fortress.  Among its later additions is a 28 meter (just under 100 ft.) moat, which was constructed during the Renaissance period in the 15th century.  The castle is open to the public during the summer months.  

Yes, you read that correctly: volcanoes in France.  Puy de Dôme is an active volcanic dome in the Masif Central region, close to the middle of the country.  It's less than 11,000 years old, a newborn in geological terms.  Contributor Astropote used a drone and four spotters to fly over the crater of the great dome, which is about 200 meters (650 ft) across and 90 meters (300 ft.) deep.  Puy de Dôme is now one of the major tourist destinations in south-central France.

Check out this drone video of a famous Loire Valley castle in France, compliments of AVEA.  It's called Château de Chaumont, and it's in the Loir-et-Cher Department, west of Paris.  A gothic fortress rebuilt in the early Renaissance style in the 15th century, it was owned in succession by two of the most well-known women of the French Renaissance: Catherine de Medici acquired it in 1550, and within a few years she forced her rival Diane de Poitiers to accept it in exchange for the even grander Chenonceau.

Top contributor Etienne Lehuédé created this beautiful aerial tour of the mystical land known as the Loire River Valley in west-central France.  The heart of the area is a roughly 280 km (aroun 170 mi.) middle stretch of the river, one of the country's most important waterways.  This is sometimes referred to as the Cradle of France and is home to some of the most important French cultural sights, particularly from the Renaissance period.  It's also a place of stunning natural beauty, as you will see in the video.

AirVuz contributor and pilot andreorig brings us this stunning drone video of France's famous Château d'Amboise.  It's located above a spur of the Loire River in the Indre-et-Loire Department.  Like most of the Loire Valley castles, Ambois began its life as a medieval fortification.  It came under control of the French royal family and was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the late 15th century, becoming for a time one of the favorite Royal residences.    The castle played an important role in the 16th century Wars of Religion.  

Château de Brissac is one of the most famous of the chateaus of the France's Loire River Valley.  It's located in the commune of Brissac-Quincé in the Maine-et-Loire Department.  Brissac was originally a gothic style fortress constructed during the 11th century.  In the early 17th century it was given by France's King Henry IV to a nobleman who had sided with him during the French Wars of Religion.  Reconstructed in the Renaissance style, yu can see it from above in this drone video by Tarik Kiko Mavic Pro.  

Explore the Vendée region of west-central France in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Nathanscemama.  One of the 96 departments of Metropolitan France, Vendée lies a bit south of the base of the Breton Peninsula and extends some distance inland.  The video was filmed along the Vendée coast, home to some of France's most beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches.  The piece features some great shots of a powered paraglider as well as a kitesurfer enjoying the natural beauty of the Vendée coast.  

Île de Ré is a prominent island off the middle of France's west coast, near the port of La Rochelle.  The body of water here is called the Bay of Biscay, which opens up onto the north Atlantic Ocean.  The island was actually an archipelago of three islands as recently as Roman times; due to a combination of silting and some land engineering the three are now fused as a single island.  You can see this fascinating and ancient island from a bird's eye perspective in this drone video by My Way.  

Check out this drone video of a beautiful spot in west-central France, compliments of contributor Matt38310.  He filmed this in the area around Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm in the Vendée department.  The magnificent landscapes here belie the tumultuous history of the region.  The Vendée was a primary battleground in the Hundred Years' War with England and the Wars of Religion of the 16th century.  Two centuries later, it was the first part of France to revolt against the Revolutionary Government in 1793.  

New contributor Icarus57 brings us this excellent drone video of a castle-fortress in the eastern part of France.  It's called Fort de Joux (Château de Joux), and it's located in the Jura Mountains in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, a commune in the department of Doubs.  Dating originally to the 11th century, in the 15th century it took on its current form as a border fortress by the then-Duke of Burgundy.  In the 1930's, it became part of the Maginot Line, serving as a defensive fortification against a possible German invasion through Switzerland.  

Burgundy is a historical region in east-central France.  It's now the western part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, which includes four departments.   It's named for a tribe that moved westwards across the Rhine from Germany late in the life of the Roman Empire.  Named for a that is famous for its namesake wines as well as its pinot noirs, Chardonnay, Chablis, and Beaujolais. Check out some of the fabled Burgundy vineyards from a first person view (FPV) perspective, compliments of Pilot chlangy_fpv.

The uniquely beautiful salt marshes found in France's Guérande region give the world Sel Gris (Grey sea salt), loved by foodies everywhere. In this stunning aerial video, drone pilot and AirVuz content creator LeVoyagedesKoumoul gives us the best perspective to enjoy the symmetrical ponds, owing their varied hues to the algae and minerals present in the pond as well. Guérande is situated in the Loire-Atlantique Department of the Pays de la Loire region, south and east of Brittany.

France's Fort l'Écluse is situated in the foothills of the Jura Mountains in the Ain Department, astride a natural route between France and Switzerland which was known since the time of Julius Caesar.  The current fortress dates to the 12th century and expanded in the 17th century; it was heavily damaged by Austrian in the waning days of the Napoleonic wars.  Seen here in this drone video by Najibk, the fort was one of the last French positions to surrender after the Fall of France in June, 1940.  

Take a an aerial tour of the largest island on France's Atlantic coast, compliments of DRHON-EL.  Oléron Island is located on the Pertuis d'Antioche strait south of the port city of La Rochelle in the Charente-Maritime Department.  The video opens with shots of Fort Louvois, which was built in the late 1600's on a small islet between the island and the mainland.  Then it's on to the Citadelle du Château d'Oléron, another fort located on the island's eastern shore.  Other highlights include the Chasseron Lighthouse at the 3:45 mark.  

This aerial video of Bordeaux, France was created by Morgo87 using a DJI Mavic Pro drone.  Bordeaux is the largest city in southwestern France and the center of its sixth largest metropolitan area overall.  It is situated in the Garonne department, which is part of the giant Nouvelle Aquitaine region.  Bordeaux lies near the mouth of the Garonne River, the most important river in southwestern France.  Despite the fact that no wineries are actually manufactured in the city, it's considered the capital of the worldwide wine industry.  

Île de Ré is one of the larger islands on France's western (Atlantic) coastline.  It's located a bit northwest of the port of La Rochelle, in the Charente-Maritime Department. Oriented on a northwest-southeast axis, the island measures about 30 km (around 19 mi.) length-wise and is quite narrow - only about 5 km (3 mi.) at its widest point.  Since 1988, the island has been connected to the mainland via the Île de Ré bridge.  You can check out this little-known corner of France from above in this drone video by Giutt97ii.

This drone video from Central France by AirVuz contributor silvano1988 opens with excellent shot of the town of Blois, which lies in the heart of the Loire River valley in the department of Loir-et-Cher.  Then it's on to the area around the town of Ambois, which is situated a bit downstream on the Loire, roughly halfway between Blois and Tours.  From there, you'll head southwest to the vineyards around the city of Bordeaux, an Atlantic Ocean port city and one of the country's great winemaking center.   

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor lagambas brings us this spectacular aerial tour of the Cantal Department of Central France.  One of the most sparsely populated parts of the country, Cantal is located on France's central plateau in the western part of the giant Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region.  The focus of the video is the Mounts of Cantal, a masif which is made up of inactive and eroded stratovolcanoes.  The highest of these mountains (Plomb du Cantal) has a peak elevation of 1.85k meters above sea level or around 6.1k ft.

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor al_drone71 brings us this excellent drone video from a famous rock formation in eastern France.  It's called the Rock of Solutré, and it's a limestone escarpment which overlooks the commune of Solutré-Pouilly in Saône-et-Loire, one of the departments of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region.  The rock is known both for its unique geological properties as well as for being the site of some notable paleolithic remains which are believed to be at least 55,000 years old.   

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor Ananda Joinet brings us this excellent video of the Auvergne region in the heart of France.  Filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone and a ground camera, the video demonstrates the beauty of Auvergne, which encompasses four departments and (as of 2016) is part of the mega-region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.   It's known in part for its volcanic mountains, the highest of which, Puy de Dôme, reaches an altitude of about 4.8k ft. above sea level (a bit under 1.6k m).   

The Gironne River is one of the most important waterways in western France.  It runs a length of about 330 mi. (around 530 km) before emptying into a giant (eponymous) estuary just past the port city of Bordeaux.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor DRHON-EL, you'll get an aerial view of the Gironne Estuary in the commune of Meschers-sur-Gironde, which lies on the eastern side of the estuary a short distance south of where the estuary empties into the Bay of Biscay (an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean) in the Charente-Maritime Department.

Take an aerial tour of one of France's largest island in this fantastic drone video by DRHON-EL.  Île de Ré, which is located northwest of La Rochelle in the Charente-Maritime Department, is the second-largest on the French Atlantic coastline.  The video opens with a shot of the 17th century Fort de La Prée on the eastern side of the island.  Next up is the Abbaye des Châteliers, a 12th century monastery.   Other highlights include the town of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (first seen at the 1:00 mark) and the Phare des Baleines lighthouse (3:50).    

Check out these lovely drone views from the coast of France, compliments of new contributor DRHON-EL.  The video was filmed over and near the town of Fouras-les-Bains in the department of Charente-Maritime, about mid-way down the country's long Bay of Biscay (part of the Atlantic Ocean) coastline.  The town actually lies on a body of water called the Pertuis d'Antioche, a strait which is formed by the islands of  Île de Ré and Oléron to the west and the French mainland to the east, a bit to the south of the port city of La Rochelle.  

In this video, AirVuz contributor and pilot Lyon Drone Services gives us a fantastic aerial look at the French city of Lyon.  The city proper is the third largest in the country, and it's the center of the country's second-largest metropolitan area after Paris. A very old city, Lyon is the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which covers much of east-central France.  Built on the site of an ancient Roman refugee settlement, the city is home to many of France's high tech companies.  

In this drone video by AirVuz contributor DRHON-EL, you'll explore an area in the middle of France's long western coastline along the Bay of Biscay.  The video was filmed in the commune of La Tremblade, which is part of the Charente-Maritime Department.  The commune lies along the Seudre River, whose lower course is a brackish waterway that empties into the Bay of Biscay near Oléron Island.   The video features footage of the town of La Tremblade and its oyster port, the adjacent Bay of Biscay town of Ronce-les-Bains, and more.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor joris djn brings us this excellent drone video of a French monument known as Notre-Dame d'Étang.  Located in the commune of Velars-sur-Ouche in the department of Côte-d'Or, It's a chapel topped by an enormous golden statue of the Madonna and Child.  It was built in the last quarter of the 19th century.  Tied to an icon discovered in the 15th century, the monument was extensively renovated in the mid 2010's.  The video was filmed with a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone.  

Despite the relatively cold water temperatures, the western coast of France along the Bay of Biscay (a wide inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean) has one of the most active surfing scenes in Europe.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Nathanscemama, you'll get an aerial view of the surfing off the Île de Ré, a medium-sized island just west of the port town of La Rochelle in the Charente-Maritime department, roughly in the middle of the Bay of Biscay coastline that runs from the Breton Peninsula down to the Spanish border.    

Check out this drone video of some beautiful wetlands and a nearby town in western France, compliments of AirVuz contributor Julien Hulin.  The first spot is the salt marshes of Guérande, a wetland area just west of the mouth of the Loire River.  The second spot is the town of Saint-Nazaire, which lies on the north side of the Loire estuary, a few km/mi. east of the salt marshes.  While both of these spots are in the Loire-Atlantique Department in the Pays de la Loire Region, they are considered part of the historical region of Brittany.  

Take an aerial tour of one of the most famous Renaissance era castles in this drone video by AVEA - Alta Vista Epic Aerials.  The Château de Chenonceau is one of the two most famous of the 15th-16th century châteaus which line the Loire Valley of Central France.  The structure sits over the small River Cher in the department of Indre-et-Loire.  The current structure dates to the early 1500's; following its construction it was seized by the French Crown and in 1547 it was given by King Henry II to his mistress.   

Check out this haunting drone video of the French city of Lyon during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020, compliments of Monsieur Recording Video.  Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region of eastern France, Lyon is the country's third-largest city and the center of its #2 metropolitan area.  While France initially fared better than Italy and Spain, by mid-April it was amongst the half-dozen hardest-hit countries in terms of infections and deaths; quarantine measures rendered the streets of its largest cities virtually empty.  

Château d'Amboise is one of the famous castles of the Loire River Valley in west-central France.  Its namesake town is in the Indre-et-Loire Department in the heart of this famed region.  Like most of the Loire castles, d'Amboise began its life as a medieval fortification.  It came under control of the French royal family and rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the late 15th century, becoming one of the favorite Royal residences for much of the 16th century.  Check it out from above in this drone video by AVEA - Alta Vista Epic Aerials.  

Enjoy these aerial views of a well-known town on France's western (Atlantic Ocean) coastline, compliments of AirVuz contributor DRHON-EL.  The town of Royan is located on the right (northern) bank of the estuary of the Gironde River near its mouth, in the Charente-Maritime Department.  With five (5) five beaches and a large marina, it's one of the most popular seaside resort towns in western France.  The town was heavily bombed during the closing months of World War II, when it became one of the last German strongholds in France.   

La Rochelle is one of the most important ports on France's western (Atlantic Ocean) coastline.  Seen here in this drone video by DRHON-EL, it's located on the Bay of Biscay, roughly halfway between the estuary of the Loire River (to the north) and the Gironde River (to the south).  Founded in the 10th century, La Rochelle rose to prominence beginning around the 12th century.  The video features nice footage of the town, including (starting at the 2:01 mark) a great shot of Saint Nicolas Tower, one of the town's most famous landmarks.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor and first person view (FPV) drone pilot FPV Gonsi brings us this outstanding FPV video of one of the most famous Renaissance castles in Europe.  It's called the Château de Chenonceau, and it spans the River Cher in the heart of the Loire Valley, about 140 mi. (around 240 km) south of Paris.  Built in the 16th century on the site of an earlier structure, the castle was famously gifted by the French King Henry II to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

AirVuz contributor DRHON-EL brings us this excellent drone video of France's oldest lighthouse.  Corduan Lighthouse is located on the estuary of the Gironde River, about halfway down France's western coastline on the Bay of Biscay (part of the Atlantic Ocean).  The base of the structure was completed in 1611, and it reached its current height of 221 ft. (68 m) as part of a modification that took place late in the 18th century.  Still operational (although automated since 2006), it's one of the world's tallest traditional lighthouses.  

Auvergne is a historical region of France, in the south-central part of the country.  Now part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, it maintains a distinctive culture and landscape which is quite different than that found in the eastern (French Alps) part of the region.  A largely rural area, Auvergne is known for its gentle hills and dormant volcanoes, as well as its dense forests and unique rock formations.  Contributor My Way created this beautiful aerial view of the region, filmed during the Fall color season.  

Check out these stunning Autumn aerial views of the French Jura Mountains, compliments of top contributor Capchure.ch.  The mountains lie just north of Lake Geneva, on both French and Swiss territory.  Contrary to what many believe, they are not connected to the Alps system which lies to the south of the Jura's.  On the French side, most of the Jura's lie within the Jura Department, which is part of the historical region of Franche-Comté and is now part of the larger official region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Check out this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone video of France's famous Chambord Castle, compliments of contributor and FPV pilot Pilu FPV.  The Château de Chambord is considered one of the great works of French Renaissance architecture.  The largest château in the Loire Valley of Central France, the castle was built as a hunting lodge for French King Francois I in the early 16th century.  After the death of the king, it fell into a semi-abandoned state for nearly a century before being restored by the brother of King Louis IV.  

The Vendée is an area of west-central France, on the Atlantic coast.  It is situated between the cities of Nantes to the north and Bordeaux somewhat further to the south.  It has been an important battleground area, going back to the Hundred Years' War with England beginning in the 14th century.  Later, it was the first area to  revolt (bloodily) against the French Revolutionary Government in the 1790's. In this video, contributor Leogiraudeau gives us an aerial view of the area's stunning coastline.