Last year's series of recommended British walking sites proved popular with readers. Sadly, many of the routes mentioned are still closed. If you're planning to get some exercise during your summer holiday abroad, here's a round up of sites devoted to walks in France.
Franceonfoot.com
Chiefly valuable for its up-to-date news and postings from walkers, Franceonfoot.com is an interesting place to browse and includes details of the foot-and-mouth cases in France - which have not affected the tourist industry to any great extent.
Rando Massif-Central
A superb searchable database of more than 400 walks throughout the Massif, which extends from Carcassonne in the south to St-Etienne in the east and Moulins in the north. Unfortunately, it's only available in French.
Discover the regions of France
Clickable map that links to the site of every tourist office in the country. A number of them have notably good walking sections: Pyrénées Orientales and Le Nord
Institut Geographique National
If you speak French, then you can buy IGN maps - the French equivalent of the Ordnance Survey - here; each costs about £4.60. If you don't, Stanfords sells them for £4.95. Pick Country/ France from the top menu and then choose TopoGuides. The TopoGuides themselves cover all the GR (Grande Randonnée) routes and are extremely useful, even if your French is patchy; they cost £12.95 each.
Provence-Beyond
Those heading for Provence will find brief advice and a highly detailed, illustrated guide to the villages encountered on the GR routes. Local campsites, hotels and chambres d'hte are listed too. Highly recommended.
National Parks
French national parks have much stricter regulations than their British counterparts. (They are not to be confused with regional parks, of which there are 40). Many of them ban dogs, cars and even bicycles. Accommodation is usually very basic. To find the English pages, click on the name of the national park and scroll down until you see a small Union Jack in the bottom left-hand corner. Practical information is a little scarce, but the flora and fauna are described with loving care. (The Pyrenees park, for instance, is home to 17 pairs of golden eagles and between five and seven bears).
Randonnées dans les Pyrénées
Twenty suggested walks in the Pyrenees. In French, but consult Ariège for places to stay close to the trails.
Confraternity of St James
Thinking of following one of the pilgrims' routes to Santiago de Compostela? If so, this site will prove invaluable.
Henk's Jura walk
Part of a vast and extremely useful site, Henk's description of the GR5 route is enthusiastic and thorough.
