Best Region in France for Walking?

DBK

DBK

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We have decided to return to France in September after considering a UK based trip. The main factor in this decision is to go to some of the UK areas were wanted, such as the Lake District, I would have to book now and this then ties our hands and we lose all the flexibility you can enjoy across the Channel.

But we want to do some walking in France and I'm struggling to identify the best regions where ideally we could park the MH then explore on foot from it. By contrast, if we stayed at a campsite in the centre of the Lake District we would be spoilt for choice.

Google hasn't been a lot of help as all it comes back with are walking holidays where luggage is collected and taken to the next stop which you travel to on foot during the day. I'm looking for areas we could base ourselves and enjoy some walks from there. Nothing too strenuous so forget the Alps but lower hills should be fine.

Provence looks good but given the price of fuel somewhere a bit closer might be better. :)

Has anyone any suggestions? Canals are an option but they tend to fill only two days - turn left the first day, walk then turn around and the next day go in the opposite direction. :)
 
I think France has upped its walking routes marking now, these past few years we have noticed lots more randonee walking routes on our travels , often circular from marked boards with distances clearly given . Otherwise Tourist offices often offer a good choice of routes but may be starting to close in September as the season is short as far as France is concerned.

We are keen walkers , we use Komoot to find routes, it’s amazing how many start and finish from a camping car aire.

If you want some hilly routes then the Alps at that time of year are brilliant , La Clusaz or Grand Bornand would be good bases , lots of low level routes along green ski pistes , clearly marked and beautiful scenery.

The coastal path in Brittany is lovely , but I think you know that already !

We enjoyed walking in the area near Macon in the wine region , along the edge of vineyards , voie verte cycle routes are often used for walking and are easy to follow, often they have ‘boucles’ off them taking you on a different route to a village or viewpoint. Similarly the hills in the champagne area has some nice walks .
 
As mentioned by Jenben the Komoot app is quite handy. Although it does have some rough edges, there is a feature that shows routes starting from wherever you are. I think it just plots a route to their nearest existing route, but useful nonetheless.
 
DBK said:
We have decided to return to France in September after considering a UK based trip. The main factor in this decision is to go to some of the UK areas were wanted, such as the Lake District, I would have to book now and this then ties our hands and we lose all the flexibility you can enjoy across the Channel.

But we want to do some walking in France and I'm struggling to identify the best regions where ideally we could park the MH then explore on foot from it. By contrast, if we stayed at a campsite in the centre of the Lake District we would be spoilt for choice.

Google hasn't been a lot of help as all it comes back with are walking holidays where luggage is collected and taken to the next stop which you travel to on foot during the day. I'm looking for areas we could base ourselves and enjoy some walks from there. Nothing too strenuous so forget the Alps but lower hills should be fine.

Provence looks good but given the price of fuel somewhere a bit closer might be better. :)

Has anyone any suggestions? Canals are an option but they tend to fill only two days - turn left the first day, walk then turn around and the next day go in the opposite direction. :)
Click to expand...
A bit of a trek to get here, but the Parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc, is very nice, although i am biased becouse i live here.

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Norman Switzerland (Suisse Normande) pretty rugged area and not very far away. Haven’t done walking but have visited , quite impressive.
 
Thank you for all the suggestions. I will follow them up by checking them out on the map. :)
 
Please don't completely rule out the Alps. My much better half and I used to run walking holiday from Champagney en Vanoise ( Vanoise National park) and you will find that it is not always a case that you have to climb steeply. In lots of cases you can enjoy a scenic ride up in cable cars and enjoy the walk down. Champagney is 600 miles down from Calais. You will find interesting places to walk on the way and many Aires to stay in. If you think I can advise in anyway please get back to me.

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As Jenben says use Komoot but also have a look at Wikiloc. We use both, Wikiloc is more popular in Spain, Komoot in Germany. France ?? Don't know. Pick an area and populate the map and see what comes up.
 
jumartoo said:
As Jenben says use Komoot but also have a look at Wikiloc. We use both, Wikiloc is more popular in Spain, Komoot in Germany. France ?? Don't know. Pick an area and populate the map and see what comes up.
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I've been looking at Komoot this morning. It seems to have plenty of walks in France but I was interested in any areas, like the English Lake District, where there would be lots of options. Wikiloc is new to me and I'll have a look, many thanks.

At the moment a return to Brittany, if only as a starting point, seems favourite. There are still areas we haven't explored fully and if the weather is poor we will just head south. :)
 
I love the Massif Central, some great ridge walks and not too difficult to get up on the ridges. Also plenty of other things to do in the area.
The cheese map you get from the tourist office even has a lot of the Aires marked on it.
 
IGN Do a map of France showing all the walking areas.,..
Other options would be to choose a area that caters for Cross country skiing in the winter but walking in the snow free months...I like the Vercor region for example...
 
The Alps are excellent and as strenuous as you want. Chamonix, Megeve and les Contamines all have campsites close to Mont Blanc.

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DBK said:
I've been looking at Komoot this morning. It seems to have plenty of walks in France but I was interested in any areas, like the English Lake District, where there would be lots of options. Wikiloc is new to me and I'll have a look, many thanks.

At the moment a return to Brittany, if only as a starting point, seems favourite. There are still areas we haven't explored fully and if the weather is poor we will just head south. :)
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You might as well just head south from the start then :LOL: :LOL: . Having said that wet morning down in sw France today and not looking great for tomorrow
 
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Komoot is on offer at the moment, whole world maps for £19.99. If you pay via PayPal they knocked another pound off for Nick 2 days ago. This is until the end of June. Normally it’s £29.99. This includes lifelong upgrades.
 
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Not France but Luxembourg is near enough. The Mullerthall region has some good walking, though not necessarily as high as the Lakes.
The Vercors is much further south but some very good walking.

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Widge said:
A bit of a trek to get here, but the Parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc, is very nice, although i am biased becouse i live here.
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I'm really looking forward to being retired ... I don't dare reading DBK blogs , nor Lenny HB 's ones yet, I'm already far too green with envy! You both, and quite a few other funsters certainly know my country better than I do. So I let you explore and find good spots until time comes for me to follow your steps! Thanks in Anticipation;);)(y):cool: but like Widge a tad biaised as my part of France is the one I just love!
 
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We have walked in France for many years. As a rule of thumb I always look to choose an area with some altitude since lower areas are often tree covered and far less attractive for walking( views and insects). Alps in summer have cable cars, allowing you to get up to the open tops easily. Parts of the Auvergne are good, Pyrenees even better but less cable car opportunities. The GR routes are marked by red and white flashes and easy to follow. However a map is essential. Lots of tourist offices have info on walks and weather forecasts.
 
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Catpirate said:
Why not Paris, wonderful city to walk around, could spend weeks looking around, with the bonus of a cafe or bar nearby.
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I've been to Paris several times but the idea of walking in a city is an option worth considering. But it would have to be somewhere new. Spain has Cadiz and Seville etc but I'm not sure about France. Perhaps Marseille...

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I use the British version of this. It uses GPS so no data usage if you download what you need.
We’re in a similar situation looking to spend September in France and love walking.

apps.apple.com

‎OutDoors GPS France - IGN Maps

‎** France’s No1 mapping and GPS app – Ideal for following hiking and biking routes in total confidence – Official Topo Maps (IGN) can be downloaded so app works anywhere regardless of signal so you’ll never become lost again! – Other Maps include Satellite, and Road maps – Find & Follow routes...
apps.apple.com
 
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Hi.
Super site Parc Natural Lac d'Estaign ? I think there is a camping spot right by the lakeside as well,however. Lots of walks sign posted,Times/kms etc from the lake. DON'T be put of with people saying " Its tight to get to " ! Follow the BUS/COACH route,they do tours to the lake.Magical place,we will go back one day.
Tea Bag
 
I've just booked the ferry to Roscoff for the end of August, returning mid October. We are going to head east towards the hilly bits near the borders with Germany and Switzerland. Hoping to visit the Vosges and Jura areas but we will also be looking at the various rivers and towns in this approximate area, not to mention the wine and cheeses, the Jura is the home of Morbier and Mont d'Or which I like. It is perhaps most famous for Comté but I've yet to be bowled over by any I've tried. I must try harder. :)

As always we will keep flexible and change plans if the weather turns poor.

Many thanks for all the input! :)

Interestingly, this was the first time I've made a booking where I had to pay attention to the 90/180 rule. It didn't apply for our trip in the Spring as this was our first into France for a couple of years and was never going to be longer than 90 days in itself but for the second trip of the year it was something to aware of. Having double checked the dates stamped in out passports, 29 June 2002 the Schengen calculator...

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...said we could have returned on 27 August this year but this would have used up all the 90 days and the margin of "safety" was zero. So we will be going out on the evening of 29 August. It's a Bank holiday but the journey to the ferry port from home takes 15 minutes so any Bank holiday traffic won't be a problem for us. Feeding different dates into the calculator threw up something interesting which was just one day difference can have a significant impact on the date by which you have to return.

If we arrived in France on 27 August the latest date we must leave France is 20 October, just a week after our planned date. This doesn't leave a lot of room for delay if we suffered an accident or whatever. Leaving the UK just a day later (it's an overnight ferry) and arriving in France 28 August we can stay until 25 November.

I suspect some may find this explanation a bit complicated, and it is, but I can only recommend you use the calculator linked to above if you are planning more than one trip and beware of what leaving on the earliest possible date means - it may limit how long you can stay more than you expected. :)
 
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Are you sure that's correct? Delaying entering the Schengen zone by just two days should only add two days at the end of the permitted stay. You didn't put the exact dates of your spring trip so I can't replicate it in the calculator. Incidentally your passport can't be stamped June 29th as that this Wednesday coming?
 
Itsmcb said:
Are you sure that's correct? Delaying entering the Schengen zone by just two days should only add two days at the end of the permitted stay. You didn't put the exact dates of your spring trip so I can't replicate it in the calculator. Incidentally your passport can't be stamped June 29th as that this Wednesday coming?
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Yes you are right, it was May 29th!

I'll try and replicate what I did but the Spring trip was 12 April to 29 May inclusive.

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