Self-guided walking holidays in France, luggage transported, itineraries, trails and single centre
Walking holidays in France offer a fantastic opportunity to become acquainted with the real France. This is a rural France, off-the-beaten-track, where you experience the land, its way of living, its local food and wine, its architecture and its colours. This is a chance to explore step by step the landscape and its contours at an intimate level. In this way you discover not just the variety of the regions of France, from the Périgord to the Pyrenees, from Burgundy to Provence, but the differences within these regions, kilometre by kilometre. Creative Walks in France is not just about keeping you glued to the trail either; there is plenty of opportunity for pleasant diversions, perhaps to a market town, a chateau or a vineyard. Our walking holidays in France are self-guided and either follow a trail or itinerary or are based in one location for several days with the opportunity to take local walks on a daily basis. You enjoy the freedom of walking and being independent, yet know that arrangements for your accommodation and luggage have been made for you in advance, and you are provided with our own detailed route and guidance notes.
Our walking holidays in France
● Self-guided● Have extra nights added before, during and after
● Full route notes and maps
● Combine more than one place
● Include luggage transfer on trails and day-by-day itineraries
Additional special interests catered for
● Wine and food● Culture
● Cycling
● Water sports
● Families
Call us on 01392 441266
Self-guided walking holidays in France, luggage transported, itineraries, trails and single centre
Where you stay
The accommodation in France offered by Creative Walks will be determined by the itinerary of the walking tour. In some cases there is more choice than in others but you can rest assured that we select accommodation, whether it be a 4-star hotel or a country auberge, that is typical of your region, of high standards and character. The owners of Creative Walks have many years’ experience in staying in hotels all over France and use hotels that have been chosen to be right for the itinerary and our clients. When the walking holiday is based in one location, then a choice of accommodation is easier to offer.
Travel arrangements
Creative Walks in France includes baggage transfers and some local car or taxi transfers on some of our itineraries. Our arrangements start and end in location and do not include any methods of transport from your home to the start of the tour. However, there is usually a wide choice of transport possibilities, depending on the location, and we can give you advice on what is possible, but you book your own flights, trains and hire-car to suit your own requirements.
Support
One of the great benefits with booking a walking holiday with Creative Walks is that you receive documentation from people who know the trail, the route or the area you’re visiting. You are provided with detailed route notes, maps and local information. The trails we offer are well-walked by the people who have put the itineraries together. You benefit from that experience. Moreover, between Creative Walks and our local agents, you are guaranteed support 24 hours a day.
Our walking holidays in France
● Self-guided● Have extra nights added before, during and after
● Full route notes and maps
● Combine more than one place
● Include luggage transfer on trails and day-by-day itineraries
Additional special interests catered for
● Wine and food● Culture
● Cycling
● Water sports
● Families
Call us on 01392 441266
Self-guided walking holidays in France, luggage transported, itineraries, trails and single centre
France, with its beautiful variety of landscape, terrain and climate, is an ideal country for a walking holiday. From the olive groves and lavender beds of Provence, to the cherry-clad foothills of the Pyrenees, from the meandering course of the Dordogne with its clusters of mediaeval fortresses to the patchwork quilt of the Burgundy vineyards, the scenery is a feast for the senses and the land full of glorious goodies. The walks in France are comfortable and accommodating, with thousands of kilometres of marked walking tracks, although there are also long distance walking routes called the Grandes Randonnées (GR), some of which hug the coastline and others cross the country, for example the GR5 which runs from the border with Luxembourg to Nice, or the GR223 which is the Cotentin and Normandy beaches trail. There are opportunities to visit historic sites, castles, gardens and vineyards along the way. There are plentiful country auberges offering rustic and traditional accommodation with wholesome, regional food. Most regions of France produce their own local wine or other beverages. With its network of high-speed trains, and many regional airports, access to the start of the walks is easy. You may want to combine one of our walking holidays in France with a touring holiday or a longer stay, before or after.
Capital
Paris
Airports
The main international airports that tend to be use in our holidays are Paris, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Marseille.
Currency
Euro
Size
France is roughly 600 miles wide and 700 miles long
Population
66 million
Average temperature
Varies dramatically, from about 8 degrees in winter in Brittany to 26 degrees in summer in Corsica, with snow on the highest peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees year-round.
National holidays in France
Some tourist attractions as well as banks etc may close on the following days:
1 January
Good Friday
Easter Monday
1 May (Labour Day)
8 May
14 July (Bastille Day)
15 August (Assumption)
1 November (All Saints)
11 November (Armistice Day)
Christmas Day
Boxing Day (not all regions)
There are several local feast days that can affect conditions locally. In addition to the above days, museums are often closed on one day a week.
Unmissable holiday experiences in France
Skiing and hiking in the Alps and Pyrenees; the museums, nightlife, vibrant art scene and sheer romance of Paris; the WWII battle sights of Normandy; the wild, fretted coastline of Brittany; the spectacular gorges of the Ardeche and Dordogne; the beaches and super cool seaside towns of the Cote d’Azur; the gastronomy of Provence; the vineyards, chateaux and rolling hillsides of the Loire Valley; the rugged landscape and turquoise shallows of Corsica; fantastic local produce in simple but exquisite restaurants; Sunday markets; dining al fresco; café au lait and pain au chocolat for breakfast, eaten in a simple bar as the country awakes.
