France’s top hiking routes compared: from Corsica’s GR20 to the Pyrenees' GR10

Travel writer Philip Faiers lives in Aude and has completed four of France’s most famous long-distance routes since retiring more than 20 years ago. His Pyrenean crossing inspired his book Along the Mountain Track.

“There is a quiet satisfaction in taking up long-distance walking in retirement,” he said, reflecting on decades of hiking.

He noted that each route offers a completely different character.

Brittany’s GR34 coastal path is “a maritime journey of cliffs and coves, fishing ports and lighthouses” and, despite being approximately 2,000km long, is said to be the easiest due to its modest climbs and lack of technical terrain.

The Tour du Mont Blanc, which has no official GR number but is commonly known as the GR Tour du Mont Blanc or GR TMB, also impressed Philip.

Circling Mont Blanc through three countries, he enjoyed its dramatic glaciers, high passes and flower-filled meadows, combined with comfortable infrastructure that makes it demanding but accessible.

Corsica’s GR20 proved the most daunting: a rugged mountain route involving chains, exposed ridges and granite slabs requiring balance and nerve.

His greatest satisfaction came from the GR10 across the Pyrenees, which he completed in 50 consecutive days. 

The 950km traverse, he says, is “wild, varied and physically demanding”, crossing remote valleys and cultures from Basque to Catalan.

Philip said it was impossible to pick a favourite route. “The food along the Breton coastal path was the best. The sheer scale of Mont Blanc was the most surprising. The unmitigated exposure on the Corsican trail was the scariest. By far the most satisfying was my 50 non-stop days along the Pyrenees.”

Living within sight of the mountains today, he still walks them regularly, valuing continuity and enjoyment over competition.

A head for mountains

Jonnie Miller, an international mountain leader based in the Pyrenees, spends much of his year leading walkers through the ranges he knows best – particularly those in the Ariège and Pyrénées‑Orientales departments.

One historic route he guides walkers along is the Chemin de la Liberté, once used as an escape path during World War Two.

He said the eastern GR10 sections in these departments are especially memorable because they mark the final stretch for walkers crossing the Pyrenees from west to east, finishing at the Mediterranean.

The landscapes combine high refuges, sweeping mountain vistas and lively valley markets rooted in farming traditions and seasonal livestock migrations.

The area is notable for its atmosphere. He described it as more remote, rustic and pastoral than many other sections, adding that local specialities, especially Bethmale cheese (a traditional, semi-hard cows’ milk cheese), are worth the effort to reach.

He also regularly guides in the Alps on the Tour du Mont Blanc, which he believes offers something for every level of walker, from full 10-day circuits to luxury itineraries with spa stays and day hikes.

What makes it special, he said, is the variety: “The whole tour has something different each day,” he said, noting that even after many trips he still learns something new, whether about mountain ecology or regional cuisine.

Age is no barrier

For Maureen Neihart, age has never been a barrier. The 70-year-old, who lives in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes), has completed the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) three times with her husband between 2022 and 2024.

The 173km circuit is divided into 11 stages averaging about 15km each with roughly 1,000m of ascent.

On their first attempt she was worried about hip problems and unsure she could manage the distances between refuges, so they camped for flexibility. She completed the route, and the following year they upgraded to refuges, inviting four friends to join them.

By their third trip they opted for maximum comfort, staying in hotels when available, which is possible on eight of the 11 stages, and refuges otherwise.

She said they ended up loving the refuges most, praising both their comfort and the welcoming teams who run them.

She recommends booking as early as January for walking in the summer, as places fill quickly.

Timing matters, too. The couple hike between mid-July and late August for the best weather, warning that late June can still bring snow-covered trails and poor visibility, while September carries a real risk of snowstorms at altitude.

They also build in rest days every three days so they can enjoy the places they pass through rather than rushing.

Early trips featured stops in Champex-Lac (Switzerland) and Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), although they later started in Courmayeur (Italy) as the opening stages are gentler, enabling them to build endurance.

She admitted that some sections are tough, especially stage three from Chamonix.

“Each time I climb it I think: ‘I don’t think I can make it.’ It’s a slog for me, not for my husband.”

Despite the challenge, she said: “We love the TMB. I hope to do it again.”

‘Life-fulfilling’

Connexion reader Anne Davies has explored several long-distance routes in France, including part of La Routo (a 500km hiking path from the Camargue to the Italian Alps) and the full GR5 from Lake Geneva to Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).

She described these experiences as “life-fulfilling,” praising the dramatic scenery, tricky high passes and ever-changing landscapes marked by different scents and vegetation.

Meeting fellow walkers and enjoying excellent refuges added to the appeal.

Although she now has too many mobility issues for Corsica’s GR20, she encourages others to tackle demanding trails while they can and insists France’s hiking network offers unforgettable adventures at every level.

Find more details about long-distance walks in France, including a map of all Grandes Randonnées, at mongr.fr/trouver-prochaine-randonnee.

How accurate are time estimates for hiking paths?

Signage for walkers in France often contains an estimate of the amount of time it will take to reach a specific point or final destination.

A well-known way of calculating this, used in a number of countries, is the ‘Naismith rule’, a formula developed by Scottish mountaineer William Naismith in 1892.

It states that it takes an average hiker an hour to walk five kilometres without any breaks. 

For every 600 metres of increased elevation, an additional hour must be given (or half an hour for 300 metres, etc).

Walking time can therefore be worked out by using the formula: (distance in km ÷ 5) + (increased elevation over the walk ÷ 600). Thus a 10km walk involving 300m uphill would take 2+0.5 = 2.5 hours.

On French hiking and mountain footpaths, the signs are usually maintained by the Fédération française de randonnée pédestre (French hiking federation; FFR), which took this principle but modified it.

The FFR allows an hour for every four kilometres on flat terrain but uses different calculations for uphill and downhill sections, deeming that a walker can climb 300m or descend 400m in one hour.

This is less simple to reduce to an easy formula, but generally allows a bit more leeway than Naismith, allowing for heavy backpacks, slower climbs and careful descents.

The times given represent an average, so you should adapt them depending on your fitness, the weather conditions, how much you are carrying, etc.