Activities
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Walking in the Pyrénées
The wild mountains of the Pyrénées stretch for 250
miles (402km) from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and have for
many centuries formed a natural frontier: physical, climatic and
linguistic, between France and Spain. Second only to the Alps among
the great mountain ranges of Western Europe, the Pyrénées are much
less frequented, and still offer an exciting combination of
knife-edged summits, small glaciers, forested valleys, mountain
tarns and little-trodden summer passes. Splendid trails lead to the
magnificent cirques and lake-spangled basins of France's Pyrénées
National Park. Over on the Spanish side paths lead through the
spectacular canyons of the Ordesa-Monte Perdido National Park, one
of Europe's oldest. In 1997, the United Nations inscribed a portion
of the French and Spanish Pyrénées near the French village of
Gavarnie and the Spanish village of Torla on its list of World
Heritage Sites. Here, nature over the eons has carved three
stupendous glacial cirques including the renowned Cirque de
Gavarnie and a 3,000ft (914m) deep canyon called Ordesa - Spain's
'Grand Canyon.'
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Hiking
The mountainous island is extremely well suited to
walking, and options range from difficult multi-day hikes to
strolls along clifftops, and day hikes up into the mountains. The
GR20 is reputed to be the best and most challenging long-distance
walk in Europe, and is the most famous hike in Corsica. Fifteen
days of demanding walking takes hikers along the inland granite
spine of mountains dividing the island from Calenzana to Conca.
Other well known, but less taxing walks include the Mare e Monti
(sea to mountains) and Mare a Mare (sea to sea) trails that last
from five, seven and 10 days. The area around Corte and Vizzavona
has numerous day walks in the mountains; there are also a number of
coastal walks such as the walk to Girolata on the west coast or Le
Sentier des Douaniers on Cap Corse, and forests and ravines invite
walkers to discover beautiful waterfalls, swimming holes and
wonderful views. The GR20 should be walked in summer between May
and October, although late snows can prevail until June, which
requires a more technical approach.
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Diving
Corsica's Mediterranean coastline offers superb diving
opportunities. The sea temperature is warmest in August, and calm,
clear waters make for excellent visibility. The Reserve Naturelle
des Bouches de Bonifacio is the most visited area with outstanding
dive conditions. Almost all the gulfs have dive centres and there
are sites in and around Ajaccio, Porto Vecchio, Propriano, Cargese,
Porto, Calvi and St-Florent. For expert divers, one of the top dive
sites is the wreck of a B-17 bomber near Calvi. The peak dive
season is between June and August.
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Wine tasting
Boasting world-renowned terroirs of Alsace, Champagne,
Provence, the Loire Valley and wine capital of the world, Bordeaux,
visitors who decide to indulge in a spot of wine tasting in France
can sip on some of the world's finest wines while soaking up the
luxuriant landscape and dining on magnificent food - a bourgeois
paradise!Visitors with a penchant for bubbly should head for
Epernay in the centre of the Champagne region where it is possible
to visit the vineyards and cellars (known as maisons) of the top
producers.Wine connoisseurs can also sample Bordeaux's finest wines
at several exporters premises in the city, which serve tourists as
a stopover and central transport hub, handy for accessing this
famous region which produces arguably some of the world's finest
wines.Many of the vineyards in France are fairly small family run
businesses lacking in staff to cater for tourists, but the more
famous ones, such as Château Mouton-Rothschild organise tastings
and tours of the cellars and vineyards while appointments need to
be made with other farms, such as Château Margaux. With so many
regions to choose from, each famous for their own cultivars,
tourists intent on doing wine tasting are best off doing an
organised tour so that the best and most recognised farms can be
visited, while those opting to drive themselves should take their
time to enjoy the fine wines and verdant vineyards of the French
countryside.
