Walking in The Gard is to hike in one of the five departments that comprise the Languedoc-Roussillon region; the others being Aude, Hérault, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales. Its capital city is Nimes, with Alès playing the role of economic ‘motor’ for Department number 30.
Walking in The Gard offers much to be discovered along its abundance of rich hiking trails, many of which can be walked all year round.
Hiking the Regordane Way is perfect for those of you with a penchant for history-based walking holidays, as few French hikes can touch the excitement of discovering such an ancient and forgotten route. Such is the thrill you get from trekking the Régordane Way from Le Puy en Velay to Alès on the south-eastern foothills of The Cévennes.
Best Practice. Run or walk a mile, you burn up approximately the same calories. So why exert yourself? But don’t walk too slowly or you lose your momentum and your walking is less efficient. Use your arms, as with Nordic walking, and you use more calories.
The calories you burn depends mainly on your weight – heavier people burn more.
Beware of the wind-chill factor when walking in France. Although you may be walking in southern France, don’t assume it never gets cold. With the exception of the Garrigues and the Mediterranean, you’ll be walking in a Continental climate. That means it can be quite cold early morning and when the sun goes down.
Here we outline the recommended 3-layers’ rule:
Walking shoes are your most important piece of equipment. The wrong choice of footwear can lead to aching and bruised feet, blisters, twisted ankles and possibly an accident and an early return home.
You should match the style of footwear that you use to the type of walking that you will be doing.
In this section we discuss the health benefits of walking in France. There are no quick fixes for health and fitness, of course. It’s up to you to walk the walk. Yet getting and staying fit and healthy can be great fun and result in a happier you – and enjoying a walking tour in France is the perfect antidote to beach vacations!
Research studies consistently point to the benefits that walking can bring you.
Valcèzard is the expanse of land lying between The Cèze and Ardèche rivers is known locally as Valcèzard. That is Val + Cèz + Ard. This territory is much more than just a fabrication by the local tourism department and has an identity all of its own that is more akin to that of Provence. It lies in Gard Provençal and it must be remembered that governmental administrative regions do not normally reflect historically-defined or distinct areas on the ground.
Trekking in France with The Enlightened Traveller comprises full-day, hotel-to-hotel or inn-to-inn self-guided walking. You walk along a mix of long distance trails [GRs], regional routes [GPRs] or local paths [PRs]. Essential meals are included for your convenience, where no alternatives exist, as too are luggage transfers, unless you would prefer to omit these and backpack.
Trekking in France embraces longer, inn-to-inn walking tours that require higher levels of endurance and obviously more time.
St-Giles Way is the historical route that links Paris to Lower Languedoc. It links Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, which in the Middle Ages was a Mediterranean sea port. The much shorter ‘Regordane’, which is the term now used by the tourism authorities to refer tho the trail, ran from Luc Castle to Alès, the gateway to The Cevennes.
While St-Giles Way [or Chemin de Saint-Gilles] needs no introduction, the jury is still out as to the true origins of the name ‘Regordane’…
The Protestant uprising in Cevennes The Protestant uprising in Cevennes took place three centuries ago. The rugged and isolated Cévennes hills in south-central France was the venue for a bitter conflict, the severity of which raised eyebrows among the landed classes and nascent bourgeoisie of Northern Europe and beyond. The Protestant uprising in Cevennes manifested …