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Articles

23 articles found

trekking in the Vanoise National Park

Feature · 17 Dec 2021

Trekking in the Vanoise – everything you need to know

Trekking in the Vanoise is the perfect way to experience some of the finest walking in the Alps. Nestled between Mont Blanc and the Massif des Écrins, the Vanoise National Park...

TMB depart

Feature · 8 Jul 2020

Trekking the Tour du Mont Blanc backwards

OK, Cicerone’s Jonathan Williams didn’t really walk the Tour du Mont Blanc backwards, he just went the 'wrong' way round...

Monte Maniglia summit

Feature · 23 Feb 2020

Hill-climbing heaven in beautiful Bellino

The quiet upper Valle di Bellino offers multiple options for one-day round-trip walks to the many surrounding 3000m+ peaks. It lies between the better-known Monte Viso and Queyras...

Gr Markers

Feature · 1 Jun 2019

Walking 1000 miles across France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago

Anna Blackwell describes spending her summer holiday walking over 1000 miles across France and Spain. Following ancient pilgrimage routes that make up the Camino de Santiago, she...

2 The Garonne Canal offers one of the best routes on traffic-free asphalted paths

Feature · 12 Jan 2019

The Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse – a cyclist’s dream

The Canal de la Garonne links the two historical cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse. It passes through countryside laden with charm and culture, all of it haunted by the shadow of...

H A Fine Road Leads South From The Bonette

Feature · 15 Jul 2018

Route des Grandes Alpes – cycling through the French Alps

Jonathan and I took on our biggest cycling challenge yet, to ride 650km and climb 15000 metres in 9 days, creating a sort of elegant reversed question mark shape as we tackled the...

Meeting point of three French routes at Hiriburia

Feature · 28 Feb 2018

An intro to… The Via Podiensis or The Way of St James (the GR65)

An intro to… the Via Podiensis or The Way of St James, answering questions like 'What's so special about St James?', 'What does the scallop shell mean?' and 'How fit do I need...

Vanoise

Feature · 12 Sept 2017

The Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise – where the French go trekking

An early-season research trip to one of France’s great one-week treks, a tour in the Vanoise National Park, and top ten tips. This is a mountain range that has pretty much...

Refuge Alfred Wills Cover

Feature · 1 Jul 2017

Walking in the Haute Savoie – in the footsteps of Alfred Wills

Aside from offering top-notch Alpine walking, the Haut Giffre area of the Haute Savoie has some interesting history. Alfred Wills, one of the founders of the Alpine Club and...

04  Second  Set Of  Lacets  Lead To The  Cirque De  Troumouse

Feature · 5 Jun 2017

Cycling in the Pyrenees – Col des Tentes and Cirque de Troumouse

Seen the Tour de France? Cycled the Col du Tourmalet? Want to do something else? Why not try these two huge and stunning lesser-known climbs in the heart of the Pyrenees?

Minerve In The Cathar Region

Feature · 5 Jun 2017

Cycling the Canal du Midi – history, route planning and more

Declan Lyons, author of Cicerone's guide to cycling the Canal du Midi, shares his personal relationship with the route, as well as discussing the history of the canal, what it's...

Rocher De Mutzig Gr53

Feature · 5 Jun 2017

GR5 Vosges and Jura – walking the borderlands of France

When the time came to update their Cicerone guide, Les and Elizabeth Smith were happy to have an excuse to revisit the Vosges and Jura. This section of the GR5 winds down through...

015 Villandry Has The Most Magnificent Gardens Of All The Loire Chateaux

Feature · 8 May 2017

Challenges and surprises cycling the River Loire Route

For the past two summers, Mike Wells has been cycling up and down the Loire Valley in central France researching his new guide to the Loire cycle route. Here he recaps some of the...

On The  Gr5 Through The  French  Alps

Feature · 6 Mar 2017

Crossing the Crête des Gittes on the GR5

The GR5 is one of the world's classic treks. The section through the French Alps takes nearly a month and involves long distances, big climbs and staying in high mountain huts. Jonathan Arlan chose it as his first long distance walk. Literally...

34219994 Cover

Feature · 5 Sept 2016

UTMB 2016 - A 170km run around Mont Blanc

Cicerone's Joe Williams recently competed the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc - A 170km (105 miles) mountain race with 10,000m of ascent around Month Blanc. Here he tells his personal...

Trail running in Chamonix

Feature · 10 Apr 2016

Trail Running in Chamonix – the ‘Vallee du Trail’

Author of Trail Running - Chamonix and the Mont Blanc region, Kingsley Jones offers a tantalising taste of the magic that is trail running in Chamonix and the Mont Blanc region...

Trekking Tour Mont Blanc

Feature · 11 Mar 2016

Trekking with an Infant 3: Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc

Jen Lumanlan travelled from the USA and did the Tour of Mont Blanc with her daughter when Carys was only eight weeks old. This article is the third of three in which she shares...

Velo Francette

Feature · 8 Feb 2016

The Velo Francette - France's newest long-distance cycle route

Gillian Thomas explores France’s long-distance cycle route the Velo Francette, through Normandy, Pays de la Loire and Poitou Charentes from Ouistreham to La Rochelle.

Trek Infant2 Headercover

Feature · 8 Feb 2016

Trekking with an infant 2: Before you go

Jen Lumanlan travelled from the USA and hiked the Tour of Mont Blanc with her daughter when Carys was only eight weeks old. This article is the second of three in which she shares her experiences of taking an infant trekking. Here she focuses on...

Ski touring in the Mercantour

Feature · 8 Feb 2016

Marvellous Mercantouring

There is a well-kept secret in the southern French Alps, a quiet but unforgettable ski tour which winds its way through the heart of the region. Here professional mountain guide Tania Noakes outlines the Traversée du Mercantour as it passes through...