The Ardeche - The French Alps

Facing the Alps across the broad valley of the Rhone lies a walker’s paradise of hills where the Ardeche, Loire and Haute Loire departments meet. This is a watershed for some of France’s great rivers, a land of steep terraced slopes, hidden valleys and tumbling streams, largely absent from the guidebooks but easily discovered on a hiking vacation of the Ardeche. Massive ruined farmhouses seem to have grown from the landscape, and the bleat of goats and call of a wild bird are often the only sounds you will hear.

• The little-known Chablis, the hugely popular Haute Savoie and the Queyras National Park
• Views of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Swiss Alps
• Attractive mountain towns and villages
• Excellent Savoie and Dauphiné cuisines
• Fresh mountain air, open spaces and peaceful silence

You can choose from three different districts within the French Alps: the Chablais, the Haute Savoie and the Queyras. From Christmas to Easter the whole area is dominated by winter sports, but it’s nothing like as busy during the summer. The weather then is lovely and sunny, and the altitude helps keep you cool.

Little-known and surprisingly quiet in the summer, the Chablais is the northern-most part of the French Alps, a dramatic limestone massif rising between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. It is exciting walking country, a real Alpine environment. On our 3-boot hotel to hotel independent walk in the Alps you can climb five of the Chablais’ top ten highest mountains with outstanding views of Mont Blanc, the Bernese Alps and even the Matterhorn! On our new 2-boot+ independent holiday based in La Chapelle d’Abondance you enjoy equally stunning views, with slightly less strenuous climbs. The Chablais mountains extend into Switzerland, and some of the routes follow the border along old smugglers’ paths.

The Queyras, in the Southern Alps, is stunning walking country with rugged mountains and typical Alpine vegetation and wildlife. It enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate, and is beautifully unspoilt with traditional villages each with their own unique architecture. Our new 3-boot independent walk explores the heart of the National Park. The spectacular and attractive countryside of the Haut Savoie has a backdrop of snow-capped mountain peaks, huge lakes of great purity, and charming small towns. The regional capital is Annecy, an ancient town whose Old Quarter has almost as many canals and little bridge as Venice.

Walking

MultiSport and Canoeing