Explore the Massif Central with a Cicerone guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Reviews
• Further Reading

Grande Traversée du Massif Central à VTT. Des Volcans à la Méditerranée, Chamina 2002

The official French guidebook to the GTMC. The route is described and mapped on a series of 41 folded leaflets, which are housed in a folder. The publication also includes three introductory leaflets, a booklet offering practical advice on tackling the route and accommodation possibilities along the trail. This work is strongly recommended, even for those unable to read French, as it is the cheapest and most convenient way of acquiring all the IGN maps needed to follow the route (see Maps in the Introduction). Au Vieux Campeur in Paris (see Appendix D) usually stocks the publication, which can be ordered online.

Cycle Touring in France by Stephen Fox, Cicerone Press 2006

The book describes eight on-road cycle routes in various regions of the country. One of these is a 356km (221 mile) route crossing the Auvergne and Longuedoc from Meymac via Riom-ès-Montagnes, Saint Flour, Marvejols and Florac to Alès.

The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail – the GR70 from Le Puy to St-Jean-du-Gard by Alan Castle, Cicerone Press (2nd edition) 2007

The Chemin de Stevenson is one of France’s most popular long-distance walks, traversing the Velay and the Cévennes from north to south, following a route similar to that taken by the 19th-century Scottish writer in 1878, as he researched his first successful book, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. The route, which the author divides into 12 day-stages, easily fits into a fortnight’s holiday. The RLS Trail follows a similar, but not identical route, to the section of the GTMC from Mont Lozère via Le Pont-de-Montvert to Florac (Stage 10).

Walks in Volcano Country by Alan Castle, Cicerone Press 1992

A guidebook describing two walks in the Auvergne. First, the Traverse of the High Auvergne (177km/110 miles or 257km/160 miles; 10 or 15 days), from Volvic across the Puy de Dome, Puy de Sancy and Cantal to Saint-Flour and on to Langogne, where it meets the RLS Trail. The first part of this trail, like the GTMC, crosses the Chaîne des Puys, Cantal and Margeride. It encounters the GTMC at Volvic, Laschamp and Saint Flour, before heading further east. Second, the Tour of the Velay, a 160km/100 mile (eight days) circular walk around Le Puy, including Monts Mézenc and Meygal, a route which lies in the Auvergne to the east of the GTMC. Out-of-print at the time of writing, but a copy may be found in a local library, or from a second-hand book dealer.

The Way of St James: Le Puy to Santiago – A Cyclist’s Guide by John Higginson, Cicerone Press 2005
The Way of St James: Le Puy to the Pyrenees by Alison Raju, Cicerone Press 2004

The latter is a walker’s guide to the French section of the famous pilgrimage route. This popular trail to Santiago meets the GTMC between Chanaleilles and Le Sauvage (Stage 7).

Walking the French Gorges by Alan Castle, Cicerone Press 1993

This guidebook includes the GR4, a trail across the Cévennes from Les Vans, via Thines and Loubaresse, to Langogne, in an area to the east of the GTMC.

Walking in the Cévennes by Janette Norton, Cicerone Press 2002

31 day-walks in the region, plus a guide to the GR68, the Tour du Mont Lozère, the latter encountered on the GTMC.

Volcans et Lacs d’Auvergne, FFRP

Topo Guide (in French) to the GR4 in the Auvergne, the GR441 and the GR30. Describes the GR4 for 274km (170 miles) from Aubusson (west of Volvic) to Saint-Flour. Includes IGN maps with highlighted route.

Gorges de l’Ardèche à la Margeride, FFRP

A Topo Guide (in French). Describes the GR4 for 230km (143 miles) from Saint-Flour to Pont Saint-Esprit (on the Rhône). Also, the GR43 from Sainte-Eulalie via Florac to the Barre-des-Cévennes (88km/55 miles) and the GR44 from Vans to Champerboux (87km/54 miles). Includes IGN maps with highlighted routes.

Tours du Mont Lozère, FFRP

A Topo Guide (in French). Includes descriptions, with route highlighted on IGN maps, of the GR68 and the Tour du Causse Méjean. Sections of these trails provide alternative walking routes for a Grand Traverse of the Massif Central.

Tour du Mont Aigoual, FFRP

Topo Guide (in French) to the GR66, a circular 80km (50 mile) route via Dourbies, Meyrueis, Aire de Côte and Mont Aigoual. Includes IGN maps with highlighted route. A section of the GR6 is also included.

Cévennes, Montagne, Refuge, Terre de Rencontres by Alan Gas, Nouvelles Presses de Languedoc 2008

For those looking for a good coffee-table book as a momento of their journey, this is one of the best. Gas is a celebrated photographer and writer whose evocative photos capture the essence of this distinctive rural area.

General Tourist Guides

Both the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet series of guides to France are directed at the independent traveller, and compared to many other general tourist guidebooks, relatively light to carry. They include information on budget and other accommodation, including campsites. Michelin Green Guides to various regions of France are an alternative source of general tourist information (in French, but some volumes are available in English).