Your Complete Guide To Walking Holidays In France For 2023!

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Have you ever dreamed of exploring the glorious French countryside, wandering from village to village, poking around ancient churches and long-abandoned châteaux, and finishing each day with a delicious meal and a glass of local wine?

Then you may want to consider one of the popular walking holidays in France!

Walking in France allows you to not only see the rural landscapes from a new perspective, but also switch off from the digital life and go back to a simpler time.

While some walking trips in France have a more luxurious package, others can be incredibly budget friendly.

There are many walking holiday in France, so we asked our walking expert, Melinda Lusmore, to share with you a different kind of travel experience you can expect, as well as her top tips and favorite routes.

So when you’re ready to start exploring the villages in France through long-distance walking, keep reading to find out everything you need to know.

Sounds like an amazing adventure to me.

What To Expect From Walking Holidays in France

For many people, long-distance walking conjures up images of badly blistered feet, lining up to secure a bed in the refugio and sharing a room each night with a dozen snoring strangers.

Movies such as Wild (the story of Cheryl Strayed’s life-changing journey along the Pacific Crest Trail) and The Way (where Martin Sheen carries his son’s ashes along the Camino de Santiago) tell a warts-and-all story.

But others can be incredible inspiring. Travel memoirs such as Tracks by Robyn Davidson make walking long distances sound life affirming and spiritual – albeit one where such minor annoyances are far outweighed by the lessons learned and the friendships forged along the way.

But, in France, where competition for a bed each night is far less frantic, long-distance walking can be a memorable, almost leisurely experience.

Of course, some walking tours in France have more luxury offerings, featuring Michelin-starred dinners and cushy hotel rooms.

But generally, there will still be the occasional hiccup—such as the hotel bathroom with no blinds on the windows and towels no bigger than a tea-towel —but you can guess which night we still laugh about today!

Walking is the perfect way to immerse yourself in all the charms of rural France.

Luckily, the French also love…