Please sign in to post.

hiking in France?

Hi everyone!

Any suggestions on hiking in France? We are traveling from Paris down to Spain, willing to make some stops to hike! We are 35-40 years old and pretty healthy. Like hikes anywhere from 1-6-hour hikes. Not looking to camp out.

For example, we have loved hiking and walking around:
Zion National Park Utah (loved being in the water in The Narrows, and up high at Angels Landing and hiking up and down and around the hoodoos)
Joshua Tree California
Adirondacks New York
Lake Plitvices Croatia
Kauai Hawaii

Thanks,
YuLing

Posted by
35 posts

Not big time hikers like you, but check out the Gorges in southern France....Gorges du Tarn and Gorges du Verdon, the 'Grand Canyon of France.'
Headed to Spain, I know there must be some great hikes in the Pyrenees, but not sure exactly where.

Posted by
59 posts

I think there are many miles of canals n France that would make excellent day hike venues. Try Googling "Canals of France". Good luck!

Posted by
12172 posts

So many places to hike. The relatively short hikes I'm planning for my next trip are in towns like Montsegur, Peyrepertuse, Queribus and others (south of Carcassonne). You park at a trailhead and hike up to the 12th and 13th century ruins of castles that were mostly built for border wars but are connected to the Crusade against the Cathars. I'd guess the average is under an hour walk up and a little shorter down, plus some time to enjoy the view and contemplate the history.

Posted by
10120 posts

Here is a listing of long-distance hikes in France, calledSentiers de Grandes Randonnées. You can get on and off the trails anywhere. You have hundreds of options all over the country. Lodging, maps, even an English version, it’s all linked to this website. Sorry, I couldn’t hyperlink on the iPad.
Go to: gr-infos.com

Posted by
7981 posts

There are beautiful trails along the sea in Brittany; we hope to do part of this trail next month.

Posted by
35 posts

thank you everyone! i think we have narrowed it down to gorges du tarn or gorges du verdon. let me know if you prefer one to the other! gorges du tarn would be more efficient for our trip (we are making our way to spain), but open to spending more time for better views/hiking/swimming/nature.

Posted by
67 posts

Check out cicerone guides from the UK.

In the area of the Tarn we did a 7 day inn-to-inn walk on mostly GR trails from Puycelci to Cordes with s side trip to Bruniquel. Wonderful area

Posted by
10120 posts

I've hiked in both. They are both spectacular, so if the Gorges du Tarn is on your route, that's the place to go. I don't know anything about floating, only walking because we did an 8-day hike of Le Causse Méjean, which is the Tarn, and the Cevennes decades ago during a spring break.