ACTIVITY HOLIDAY GUIDE 2015


France’s mountain ranges are summer paradises for walking, and even cycling…


holidays needn’t take place entirely aboard a boat. If you’re spending your summer in the French mountains – which we highly recommend – you can get your watery fi x by spending a glorious afternoon boating on Lake Annecy in Haute-Savoie, the heart of the Alps. Companies such as Point Bleu


(www.pointbleulocation.fr) rent out speedboats at around €40 for zipping around the vast lake, which covers nearly 28 square kilometres. Lake Annecy is celebrated for being Europe’s cleanest lake, making it ideal for jumping off the side of the boat for a dip, midway through your excursion. The nearby Lac de Grand-Lieu and Lac du Bourget, the largest in France, are also well worth visiting if you’re visiting France’s very own ‘Land of Lakes’.


CYCLING AND WALKING France’s vast geographical diversity makes it ideally suited to hiking and cycling holidays. You wouldn’t expect the birthplace of the Tour de France to disappoint its two-wheeled visitors, and France’s plenitude of voies vertes (‘green lanes’) and véloroutes make travelling by bicycle a pleasure.


Hikers will relish the varied French landscape, which challenges and takes your breath away at every turn, whether in the mountain ranges during the summer or along l’Hexagone’s many coastlines. Established tour operators, such


as Headwater (www.headwater. com) offer independent, self-guided cycling and walking holidays that leave you free to explore at your own pace. The company suggests a route to suit, favouring country lanes and coastal tracks, and books you into hotels and restaurants en route, transporting your luggage between stays. Headwater’s incredibly in-depth knowledge of exploring France by bike or on foot means that you’ll be in safe hands. Their popular routes include cycling through Provence; along the Breton coast; through the vineyards of Chablis, the Vaucluse and Burgundy; between the Loire’s châteaux; along the Canal du Midi; and gastronomic tours of Burgundy and the Dordogne. Prices per person range from around €1,000 for six nights to €1,850 for ten. Walking trails in France often follow historical themes, such as the Tour du Larzac amid the


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Point Bleu Location - Boat rental - Water taxi


Lac d’Annecy 74290 Veyrier du lac www.pointbleulocation.fr


+33 4 50 60 22 02 info@pointbleulocation.fr


One week ALL INCLUSIVE RIVER CRUISES • Canal du Midi • Burgundy Canal


• Doubs, Rhone, Saone Valleys www.penichelasemouse.com


Call Sabrina and Didier Michel: +33 6 09 43 16 30 Email: penichelasemouse@gmail.com


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IMAGES: © SCENIC TOURS; LA SEMOUSE; OT CHAMONIX/MONICA DALMASSO


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