Hi all,
I’m exploring places for an outdoors vacation to take in a couple weeks.
After a great experience in the South Tyrol area last weekend and trying to do another one before the weather changes. From the kind people to the cows in green pastures to the mountain huts for meals, it was unforgettable.
I would love any suggestions for the last week in October. Is the weather in the Dordogne still good?
Thank you!
I’m pretty sure the end of October is too late for the Pyrénées, but I haven’t been in elevation there in October/November.
You will probably need to stay closer to the Mediterranean but at lower elevation, behind the Côte d’Azur or the hills in Occitanie. I spent four months last year in Uzès and think it’s a great base for heading out onto trails. Of couse, a lot of the time we were restricted to 1 or 3 kilometers due to the lockdown, but even with that roadblock, we were able to get into rural areas on foot. There’s a ton more a car ride away. It doesn’t get as much Mistral wind as Provence.
Édit: What Kerouac2 suggested could work since you spoke of huts, etc, which I overlooked in my first answer. The GR guidebooks have lodging listings. You could hike in the Cévennes or Les Causses out of Millau. Another is the stunning Le Puy en Velay on one of the St. Jacques trails. Finally, look at trails through Conques and Rodez, again on the St. Jacques trails. Thèse are all in mountains but lower elevation. These areas are gorgeous.
The Verdon Gorge and surrounding area would be great at that time of the year. Rainy spells do occur in autumn, but they tend to be brief. However, there is no public transport to the area... And this is a general difficulty with hiking regions in France !
We were hoping to go to Chamonix; not necessarily up Mont Blanc but some of trails in the valley.
It's a bit late for Chamonix, in my opinion.
If you really want to go to the northern Alps, Annecy could be an option, even though it might not be at its best. There are some beautiful trails in the region around the lake, and public transport is more or less OK if needed.
But I'd still aim to go further south if possible.
So according to your other thread on the Switzerland site this is actually for your daughter, or are you going to go off hiking alone in France?
Hi Bets,
Yes, this is for my daughter and two of her college friends. I just don’t always go into all the detail (although I guess age matters.)
She spent an amazing few days solo near the Dolomites last weekend with the help of this Forum. We took your hotel suggestion — it was perfect for her!
Now she (they) have 10 days off for Fall Break the last week of October. They are making their way from Florence to Paris to Barcelona. Trying to get in rural towns, hikes or walks again but also want to see classmates in Paris and Barcelona, hence the crazy travel planning 😊
I need them to hire a travel agent! 🤣
They should really aim to hike around Barcelona then. Otherwise it will be too complicated. Plenty of options both in the Pyrénées foothills and on the coast; there is a chance of rain in autumn but the climate is otherwise milder than the Alps!
Hi Balso, Yes, agreed. Thinking they could take the train between Paris and Barcelona and stop somewhere for a couple nights.
