From the Pyrenean peaks to the Cassis calanques, from the cirques of Gavarnie and Troumouse to the Tarn gorges, France offers hikes for all levels: walks of a few hours around a turquoise lake, or great outings that call for a full day and good fitness.
This selection of 20 sites brings together mountain, gorge, canyon and seaside routes. The Canigou, Mont Aiguille and the Bavella needles are for experienced walkers. Lac Vert, the Dentelles de Montmirail and Porquerolles also suit a family outing.
Before setting off, always check the weather, difficulty level, trail conditions and any access restrictions, especially in summer in the Mediterranean massifs. Start early, bring water and suitable shoes.
At 2,785 metres, the emblematic summit of the Catalans, the easternmost high point of the Pyrenees, visible from the Mediterranean in clear weather.
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Mont Aiguille, one of the seven wonders of the Dauphiné. Mont Aiguille was once called "Mont Inaccessible" because climbing it was thought impossible.
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Perched at 2,352 metres in the Aiguilles Rouges massif, Lac Blanc offers one of the most emblematic panoramas of the Alps, facing the Mont Blanc massif.
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Nestled at 1,834 metres' altitude in the Vallée Étroite, Lac Vert (Lago Verde) owes its intense emerald colour to the algae covering its shallow bed, with no apparent inflow or outflow.
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The beauty of the cirque entirely occupied by Lac d'Oô explains hikers' enthusiasm for this site.
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A developed path climbs through undergrowth to reach the crater carved 20,000 years ago by the ancient glacier.
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The Puy Mary (1,787 m), in the heart of the classified Cantal Mountains massif, in the Volcans d'Auvergne Regional Nature Park, is the most visited natural site in the département (about 400,000 visitors a year).
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The Hohneck peaks at 1,363 metres in the commune of La Bresse and is one of the highest summits of the Vosges massif, often presented as the high point of the Vosges département.
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This exceptional mountain landscape, which spreads on both sides of the present national borders of France and Spain, is centred on the Mont Perdu peak, a limestone massif that peaks at 3,352 metres.
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Upstream of the Héas gave valley, the Troumouse cirque is the largest glacial cirque in the Pyrenees.
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The Lescun cirque is a natural site shaped by glaciers and bounded by limestone peaks with legendary names such as the Table des Trois Rois or the Aiguilles d'Ansabère, the Camplong organ pipes...
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A famous canyon with limestone walls. Above all see: the Point Sublime (400 m high), the Barre de l'Escalès (cliff), the Baume aux Bœufs tunnel cave, the St-Maurin waterfalls...
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A 27 km limestone canyon carved by the Tarn between the Causse de Sauveterre and the Causse Méjean, dotted with hilltop villages and dizzying viewpoints.
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It is true that this group of ruin-shaped rocks can be deceptive.
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A spectacular 2 km canyon in Haute-Soule, with walls reaching 350 metres high, discovered in 1906 by the speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel.
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The Calanques massif, at the gates of Marseille, offers a postcard landscape.
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A long limestone ridge with dazzling white cliffs, Mont Sainte-Victoire owes its international renown to the dozens of paintings Paul Cézanne devoted to it.
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The Bavella needles (or "Towers of Asinao") are north-west of Porto-Vecchio, between Zonza and Solenzara in the Bavella massif.
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Between the Rhône valley and Mont Ventoux, this prestigious site offers a superb panorama (orientation table at its summit) over the Comtat Venaissin plain and the surrounding hills.
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The island of Porquerolles is the largest and westernmost of the three Golden Isles of the Gulf of Hyères, with an area of 12.54 km².
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