Destination: France

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Green for go

This highly energetic 1500km tour from the French Alps to the Pyrenees will leave you breathless, especially if you take a few days out to indulge in an adrenaline rush of outdoor activity up, down or on the mountain slopes.



Kick-start your Alpine adventure in Chamonix at the foot of Europe’s highest peak: ride a cable car to the Aiguille du Midi and Le Brévent or a train to the Mer de Glace. Skiing the legendary Vallée Blanche and paragliding are daredevil choices. For the truly Alpine-dedicated there are the Vanoise and Écrins national parks to explore.

Hopping across Lake Geneva by boat, the unexplored Jura looms large. This gentle land of cross-country skiing, dog-mushing and cheese dining in Métabief Mont d’Or– not to mention Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp chapel – is an oasis of peace.

Or head southwest for week two, breaking the journey in the Parc Naturel Régional de Chartreuse of potent pea-green liqueur fame or in the cave-riddled Parc Naturel Régional du Vercors. Passing through the wild Cévennes, walking a stage of Robert Louis Stevenson’s donkey trek is doable before hitting the Pyrenees.

In the Parc National des Pyrénées, revitalise weary bones with spa waters in Bagnères de Luchon then hit the Vallée d’Ossau and Vallée d’Aspe for a heady cocktail of mountain biking, walking and vulture spotting. Use Cauterets – from where you can ski in season – as your base.

Travelling to France?
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