French hiking towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed hiking towns in France, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Cauterets sits along the Gave de Pau river inside the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by four Natura 2000 zones and within reach of the Vignemale — and it is just one of six Hautes-Pyrénées bases on this page, alongside Saint-Lary-Soulan, Campan, and Esterre. From Vanoise National Park towns like Aussois and Modane in the Savoie Alps to coastal-edged picks in Lozère and Haute-Corse, these 25 towns are where the hiking actually begins.
Abondance
Abondance, a tiny Alpine village in Haute-Savoie just south of Lake Geneva, lends its name to both a regional cheese and the breed of cattle whose milk produ…
Modane
Compact town in the Maurienne Valley of Savoie, Modane sits within the Vanoise National Park close to the Italian border, with mountain scenery on all sides…
Cauterets
This spa town and ski resort in the French Pyrenees, Cauterets sits along the Gave de Pau river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain sce…
Saint-Lary-Soulan
This dual-season mountain resort village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Saint-Lary-Soulan draws skiers in winter to its slopes at Pla d'Adet and Espiaube, and hiker…
Campan
This mountain village in the French Pyrenees, Campan sits within the Pyrénées National Park on terrain drained by the Adour river and several tributaries.
Aussois
A pocket-sized ski and mountain village on the edge of the Vanoise National Park — France's first — in the Savoie department of the Alps, Aussois draws winte…
Sète
This Mediterranean port town in southern France's Hérault department, Sète is built across canals between the sea and the Étang de Thau lagoon, climbing up t…
Esterre
A small hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Esterre sits alongside the Bastan river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain scenery and scenic v…
Cluses
Sitting on the Arve river in the Alps of Haute-Savoie, Cluses is a town with a walkable centre, a café scene, and steep mountain slopes rising on either side.
Arrens-Marsous
This mountain village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, formed in 1973 from the merger of Arrens and Marsous, sitting alongside the Gave d'Azun river within the Pyréné…
Gavarnie
This small Pyrenean hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées is the gateway to the Cirque de Gavarnie, a massive glacial cirque and UNESCO World Heritage Site that also…
Florac
This modest riverside village in the Lozère department of southern France, Florac sits at the heart of the Cévennes National Park — whose headquarters are ba…
Vivario
A small Corsican village at the foot of the Col de Vizzavona, Vivario sits where the mountain climb begins and the surrounding terrain opens into scenic high…
Le Rozier
A small hamlet in the Lozère department of southern France where the Tarn and Jonte rivers meet, Le Rozier sits at the entrance to the Gorges du Tarn and Gor…
Remiremont
A modest town in the Vosges where the Moselle and Moselotte rivers meet, Remiremont has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, and sits at…
Morteau
Morteau, a small town in the Doubs department of eastern France's Jura massif, is known nationally for its smoked sausage, the saucisse de Morteau, and has a…
San-Martino-di-Lota
A stone-built Corsican village spread across terraced hillsides above dense maquis, with a prominent church tower, sweeping mountain backdrops, and coastal p…
Castellane
A compact, photogenic subprefecture in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Castellane sits on the water with mountain scenery close at hand and carries the French g…
Bugarach
A pocket-sized hamlet in the Aude department of southern France, Bugarach sits on the Blanque river at the foot of the Pech de Bugarach, the high point of th…
Mouthe
France's coldest recorded place, Mouthe is a tiny Jura mountain village in the Doubs department where Météo-France officially logged −36.7°C on 13 January 1968.
Faverges
This compact town in Haute-Savoie sitting at the upper end of the glacial valley that gives rise to Lake Annecy, with mountain scenery on all sides and the B…
Saint-Roman-de-Codières
This tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains of southern France's Gard department sits alongside the Vidourle river and is drained by several other watercourse…
Bidarray
A small village in the French Basque Country where the Nive river draws visitors for rafting and hiking in the surrounding Pyrenean terrain.
Bagnères-de-Luchon
This Pyrenean spa town in Haute-Garonne, Bagnères-de-Luchon — commonly called Luchon — combines thermal baths with a ski area at Luchon-Superbagnères, reacha…
Manosque
Walkable town at the eastern edge of the Luberon in southeastern France, Manosque sits near the Durance river with a food-and-drink scene concentrated in its…