COUNTRY FIELD GUIDE
France coverage distinguishes managed collecting activities from protected geological heritage and guided mine visits. Protected reserves and individual sites can impose strict no-collection rules; use the record status and current operator or reserve instructions before collecting.
Ready · managed
Materials: Amethyst, Quartz
Geosite discovery centre offering a current 2026 guided amethyst-prospecting walk. The official activity page states visitors can collect crystals and leave with their finds, with a 200 g/person limit.
Next review: 2026-12-12
Ready · managed
Materials: Amethyst, Quartz
Private Auvergne amethyst mine where current 2026/2027 visitor information explicitly includes digging and taking home amethyst samples. The public map routes only to the published village meeting point, not to private mine workings.
Next review: 2026-12-12
Conditional · conditional
Materials: Fossils, Ammonites, Bivalves, Sea Urchin Fossils
Villers-sur-Mer explicitly states that fossils can be collected from the beach at low tide while access to the protected cliffs is forbidden for conservation and landslide safety.
Next review: 2027-01-11
Protected / viewing · viewing
Materials: Silver
Carolingian silver-mining heritage site in Melle with current 2026 guided underground visits. The explorer includes it as a mineral/mining heritage stop, not a collecting area.
Next review: 2027-09-13
Protected / viewing · prohibited
Materials: Fossils, Ammonites, Belemnites, Bivalves
World-class Lower Jurassic ammonite slab in the Haute-Provence Geological Nature Reserve. Official tourism guidance states that extraction and collection of fossils are prohibited on the protected reserve sites, including the ammonite slab.
Next review: 2027-09-13
Protected / viewing · viewing
Materials: Copper, Azurite, Malachite
Exceptional mineralogical mine heritage at Le Pradet, currently operated as a museum and visitor circuit. It is included for geological context and safe visitation, not as a collecting locality.
Next review: 2027-09-13