Walking - Hikes
in France

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Walking Tours in France, why there?
The geographical location and spread of France is such that it has one of the most diverse landscapes in western Europe.
The food and wine are some of the best in the world so calorie burning will be well worth the effort and the TGV train system is a very fast way to link up the longer distances between hikes.
There are over one hundred thousand miles of footpaths which are generally very well marked and every town has a tourist office that will give information and - hopefully - maps of good walks in the vicinity.

Downside: some French are reserved with tourists who don't learn any their language or make an effort. English may get you by in the metropolitan areas and with tourism professionals but the locals probably won't appreciate it in the more rural areas.

Where to go hiking in France:
There are 22 regions covering this massive land mass with numerous possibilities, but here are some more popular destinations for walking tours.

For Beaches/Coastlines:

Normandy - a landscape not dissimilar to that of south and south east England, very green and with similar broadleaf trees, hedged farmlands and quaint villages. The climate is mild.
Beaches have important wartime interest, so the coastline has a unique attraction.
Beaches of the Normandy landings were Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, though related visitor centres and museums will probably need to be checked to help with historic appreciation.
There are ruins of an artificial harbour created by allied forces in two weeks to be seen at Arromanches, and Pointe d'Hoc, scene of a famous battle, is reached by a cliff top walk.
US citizens may see their fallen forbears at the American Cemetery in Saint Laurent for a real perspective on the sacrifices that were made for freedom here.
The weather as in England can be disappointing though hiking is usually comfortable when not wet, and it is generally a very pretty, quaint region.
Walk here June-September. Camp out if you want to risk the weather, otherwise stay in self catering 'gites' and farmhouses.

Brittany - similar to Normandy but the landscape, including the coastline, turns more rugged - akin to the South West of England. More visually interesting than Normandy perhaps, especially if you have little interest in modern history.
No tours of Brittany would be complete without a stroll out to the impressive Mont St Michelle, a monastery on a granite island.

For Wine Culture:

Alsace - if you are considering walking tours in the Black Forest in Germany then Alsace is the French equivalent and is right next door. Mediaeval timbered buildings with coloured paint, grand chateaux and hill/valley vineyards; this could start or end a particularly woody trek combining the two countries.
La Route du Vin 'The Road of Wine' is considered to be one of the finest walks in the country. Sample the fine vintage Riesling, Pinot Gris and regional specialty Munster cheese.
Stay in half timbered buildings 'en route' - which runs for 112 miles, beginning at Marlenheim in the north and ending in Thann in the south, and meandering through vineyards and villages on the way.
The region lies between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine Valley, and the Black Forest can be seen from the heights of the Haut Koenigsbourg castle near one of the finest medieval towns of Riquewihr.
Local culture here has been greatly affected by a thousand year old tug-of-war between France and Germany, but the locals are determinedly French.
Strasbourg is a must see city if you are in the area.

Bourgogne 'Burgundy' - another unmissable region for the walking wine lover offering some of the very best vintage wines in the world. Consider Vezelay, a village once a gathering point for the pilgrimage to Santiago [see below]; Auxerre a medieval and Roman town of great beauty with its Cathedrale de St Etienne on the Yonne river; Beaune, wine centre of the region; and of course Chablis.

Pays de Loire and Aquitaine - the Loire valley and Dordogne valley are real wine country with a plethora of vineyards and many superb chateaux.
Do vineyard tours May-June and September, sample some of the best wines in the world direct from the hands of those who understand them best, admire the chateaux and stay in them if the budget allows.

For Sun and Warmth:

Provence and the Cote d'Azur - mostly it's best to avoid the busier parts of the French Riviera though Mercantour National Park near Nice has some terrific walks, the lower Alps are not far off and are scattered with fine paths while the clifftop villages and ancient, fortified towns of Provence that inspired work by great artists such as Cezanne [around Aix-en-Provence] and Van Gogh [Arles] have endless lovely tracks in the vicinity.

For Mountains:

Auvergne - just south east of the centre of France is the Auvergne region of extinct volcanoes. It offers a unique area of old craters and rich mineral water sources such as the Volvic and Le Monte Dore, home to the Parc des Volcan d'Auvergne National Park.
Walking is moderately easy with no high altitude.

Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenees and Languedoc Rousillon - in the far south west of France the land rises once again, this time into Spain. See Walking Tours - Pyrenees

Corsica [picture top right] - in the far south east, France splashes in the Mediterranean off the beaches of the Cote d'Azure, then scrambles ashore onto the island of Corsica a hundred miles and 4 hours by ferry off the coast.
This is a relatively undeveloped and dramatically mountainous island of high granite peaks dropping into deep forested valleys, where villages perch surrounded by chestnut trees.
Hikers will be delighted with hundreds of stunning and well marked walking routes, from short but perfectly formed trails through the red rocks of Calanches de Piana to the gorge walks around Porto and Corte and the challenging 200 km [125 miles], cross-island Grand Randonée of GR20.

Corsica Hiking | Corsica Pictures | Travel Guide

Way of St. James - France has been a staging area for millions of pilgrims who have been making their way to Santiago for over a thousand years, see Walking Tours - Way of St James

Official Footpaths - France has a particularly extensive system of footpaths which it splits into three types relating to distance.

Grandes Randonnees or 'Great Walks' are long distance routes that often cross into adjacent countries, such as the GR5 and GR10 which follow the Pyrenees into Spain, and these are marked by red and white signs.
Randonnees de pays are walks within regions and marked with red and yellow signs.
Promenades or Petits Randonnees are short walks marked by yellow signs.

Official Parks - France has 7 National Parks and 40 Regional Nature Parks or 'Parcs Naturels Regionaux' which include some of the best areas mentioned above.

For more information on Walking Tours in France see:

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