Walking

 

France is a walker’s paradise - three times the size of England, it has eight times the mileage of public footpaths. These are not just secondary roads cobbled together but real paths passing through forests, vineyards, gardens and fields that are well marked, well mapped and open to anyone who has the knowledge and interest to use them.

 

The French trail system is 110,000 miles long and is made up of three types of path:

Long national paths, or GRs. These are mapped on the one-sheet, 1:1,000,000 IGN map 903. There are 38,000 miles of GR trails, laid out to connect one point with another. GR trails are marked with white over red blazes.

Regional paths, or GRPs. Only the longest of these paths are shown on IGN map 903. There are 25,000 miles of GRP trails, each covering one region thoroughly, often in a circular layout. They are marked with yellow over red blazes.

Local paths, or PRs. These trails radiate out from many towns and villages offering the visitor a chance for an hour to a day’s walk to a local beauty spot or to a place of historical interest. These paths are marked with a single yellow blaze or, if there are many paths that intersect, as is usually the case, a single blaze of any colour.

 

The GR and GRP trails criss-cross every region, which makes it possible to take

a long distance, village-to-village walk anywhere in France. Since nearly all land

is privately owned, the trail you choose will pass through vineyards, orchards,

fields, forests and even back gardens.

Campôme Village

House

and Apartment

 Your Home from Home in the Pyrénées