Usually, when people think of France, I bet they are probably thinking of the Eiffel Tower, croissants, and the Louvre Museum. There’s plenty more to France than that, though! Yes, I’m talking about France’s lesser-known natural landscapes. France is blessed with incredible national and regional parks within its borders and international territories. As you venture into the French countryside you will soon discover that national parks offer plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting, hiking, cycling and enjoying the country’s biodiversity. Check out our list of 5 of the best National & Regional Parks in France.
The Calanques, south-east of Marseille, only became a national park in 2012 and just a sixth of its total surface is on land, the majority being a protected marine area. The clifftop walks towards the calanques (coves) of Sormiou and Morgiou are exhilarating as long as you haven’t drunk too much pastis. Many of the calanques are only accessible by boat or some hike. Alternating limestone and sandstone give a strange cragginess to the coast which houses leaf-toed geckos, ocellated lizards and 13 species of bat. Out to sea, bottlenose dolphins, loggerhead sea turtles and fin whales can be seen in the waters off Cassis.
Two of the highlights of the Mercantour National Park are manmade: the bestiary-inspired frescoes of the local 15th-century chapels are only slightly less terrifying than the 36,000 prehistoric carvings in the park’s Vallée des Merveilles. Mercantour has a central, heavily protected core of 685 sq km where visitors are only allowed to walk and a bigger, peripheral area of 28 mountain villages, where it is possible to go biking and hang-gliding. Alpine rock formations and a Mediterranean climate have combined to produce impressive gorges as well as being home to wild boar, rock ptarmigans, nutcracker birds and the recently reintroduced bearded vulture, Europe’s largest bird of prey.
Auvergne des Volcans Natural Regional Park is a 30km chain of 80 extinct volcanoes makes up this ancient natural area in Auvergne. In addition to millennia-old volcanos, there is a massive variety of other geological delights. Think steep-sided cliffs, glacial pools, hot springs, steams and so much more. The Auvergne des volcans natural regional park is a photographer’s paradise. It has four separate nature reserves, streams, pools, glaciers, the steep-sided Massif du Sancy and Cantal Massif. Apollo butterflies and rare damselflies join over 1,000 different animal species in the park; and for more thrills, there is Vulcania, a volcano-inspired theme park, which has vertical-drop rides as well as practical science demonstrations.
Sprawled across the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys, Vanoise National Park is known for it’s soaring peaks and incredible day hikes. With over 500 km of trails and roads, you’ll never run out of hikes from day treks to long hauls. Along with the numerous mountains topping over 3,000 m, there is a wide variety of glaciers and wildlife.
With an exceptional flora and fauna, the Pyrenees National Park, extends over the southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées and the south-east of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. A paradise for hikers, the Pyrenees National Park is crisscrossed with countless hiking trails. Wild and unspoiled, this territory is home to the highest peaks of the French Pyrenees and has no less than 230 altitude lakes!
France’s green spaces provide the chance to see magnificent wildlife, explore mountain villages or just have a great hike or bike ride. I hope you enjoyed discovering our top 5 of the best National & Regional Parks in France. Of course, there are so many more incredible parks to discover such as: Camargue Regional Park, Écrins National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Verdon Regional Park and more… Do not hesitate to contact us as we have specialist of hiking in our team.
