The champagne bocage of Pays du Der gradually succeeds the cereal plains and vineyards.

Did you know that this “country” was covered with a dense forest of oaks called “Dervos” in Celtic, word that will eventually derive to “Der”? Welcome to the Pays du Chêne! Not far from the Via Francigena is the largest artificial lake in Europe: Lac du Der. It was built for the needs of regulating the flow of the river Marne and thus avoid flooding Paris. It has become a hotspot for ornithology and nature lovers.