Forêt de Montgeon, Forest in Le Havre, France.

The Forêt de Montgeon is a large woodland near Le Havre containing several lakes, marked walking paths, and areas for cycling. The terrain supports foxes, rabbits, squirrels, and other creatures throughout its wooded sections.

The forest sits on land where people lived during the Neolithic period, as shown by flint tools and arrowheads discovered in its northeastern section. These findings show that humans inhabited this area thousands of years ago.

The forest was long called Forêt des Hallates before the city bought it on 11 April 1902. Its name survives in local use, and the woodland is now the largest green space in Le Havre, covering 270 hectares from the Jenner tunnel to Fontaine-la-Mallet.

The paths through the forest are marked with yellow signs to help you find your way around. During summer, you can rent bicycles, paddle boats, and other equipment to enjoy the space.

The forest was bought by the municipality on 11 April 1902 and laid out by Michel Bejot between 1966 and 1971. During the Second World War the German army kept an ammunition depot here, built as rows of cells ringed by earth banks; after the Liberation a camp of half-moon huts, Camp Herbert Tareyton, housed American soldiers, then bombed-out families.