France on Foot

There are over 40,000 km of trails marked by the hiking federation, the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre, who classifies the trails in three categories: the national long distance paths (sentiers de grande randonnée) waymarked with red and white stripes, the regional paths (sentiers de pays) marked with red and yellow stripes, and the local short paths (sentiers de petite randonnée) with yellow stripe markers. These trails crisscross France trough changing landscapes and varied topography, passing through, among others, the 32 Nature parks maintained in a pristine condition by the Federation of Regional Nature Parks.

The trails are usually well maintained, and some of them, originating from the Middle-Ages, rich in history and marked with relics from the past. Some of the oldest trails of France, are the ones walked by the pilgrims on their way to St Jacques de Compostelle in Northern Spain. They gathered in Paris, Vézelay, Le Puy and Arles, and set out in groups, providing each others help and trying to find in numbers the strength needed to fend off highway robbers and brigands for whom they were easy preys. Cairns surmounted by a wooden cross marked the trails, pointing them in the right direction, and some of them still stand erect today. These routes, known as the chemins de Compostelle, started to be used by the pilgrims in the tenth Century, when the presumed burial place of St Jacques the Apostle, was discovered. The paths congregate as they cross the Pyrénées and near Compostelle. Today the trails are magnificent remnants of a past that pitted Christians against Moors, then in control of the Iberian Peninsula. The routes are indicated on the St Jacques de Compostelle map, and the hiker will find there a brief description of the medieval towns that they cross along the way.

For those who like history, France abounds with paths and trails. You can relive the war against the heretic Cathars of the Languedoc, where the Bastides, fortified towns erected on high grounds by their Albigensian enemies, still dominate the landscape. Though, at the time, the war was deemed a crusade, it was an opportunity not missed by the King of France to seize the Languedoc region, the Occitanie, and bring it under his rule.

The inns, or gîtes d'étapes, which you may encounter while hiking, are catalogued in the Guides des randonneurs published by the Fédération de Randonnée Pédestre.

There is an abundance of thematic walking/hiking tours in France. Discover, for example, the lavender fields of Provence, Van Gogh's country, and breathe in the aromas of wild flowers and pine trees needles. A couple of walks are proposed by Van Gogh Tour and Provence Van Gogh. Of course, France and good wines being synonymous, a number of tours by GORPTravel are built around this theme.

Other reputable and established operators, such as Butterfield and Robinson, Discover France, and Country Walkers, offer equally interesting trips based around numerous and diversified themes.