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Walk France

© Robin W.

So, do you know? What exactly do you want out of your next vacation in France? Do you want to be right on top of every well-trodden path, savoring opportunities to walk in the footsteps of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso? If so, check back when Travel in France updates Paris in time for spring travel getaways.

Until then, relax and learn about popular walking tours, which provide the road weary with viable options less confining than bus tours and more organized than independent travel.

I stumbled into the concept of long-distance walking in France after reading Miles Morland's A Walk Across France a few years ago. He described a trek he took with his wife that included every ungraceful detail of the journey, from washing socks in a hotel sink; tending nightly to raw, unforgiving feet--even missing hard-earned meals when they arrived too late in a too-small village.

There was no storybook ending to Miles' Great Walk. He recounted a grueling, physically challenging tale that ended mostly in relief. Greater rewards, those of his concurrent inner journey, had to wait until he had time to relax and reflect. And those rewards, I suspect, are why walking tours have gained followers in recent years. There is an allure to challenging your body, slowing down, becoming reacquainted with natural, simple pleasures. In addition to a picturesque, easily paced vacation away from the well-worn paths of other tourists, walkers likely harbor in their hearts eager anticipation of those later rewards.

Walking tours offer a slice of the Morlands' experience, but without the hazard of missed meals, the weight of your own luggage on your back, or the pace of actually traversing a whole country. Priced on average between middle-class affordable and pampered, these tours offer singles, pals, honeymooners, and families of all ages opportunities to tread lightly on a chosen culture while visiting scenic locations you'd rarely catch out of a train or bus window. Here are the answers to your walking-tour FAQs.

How do they work?
To give you your money's worth, tours generally provide knowledgeable guides, comfortable to luxury accommodation, most meals, and the crucial logistical factor: transport of your luggage from one night's lodging to the next. Walks may progress along a specified route each day, which means you'll get to rest in five or six different villages, or you'll stay in one hotel for the week, exploring outlying areas each morning via a quick shuttle in your group's van. Check your tour company's route so you don't find yourself groaning each morning at the thought of boarding the four-wheeler you thought you left behind. If you are too tired to walk, however, the suddenly attractive van will transport you to your day's destination. The van is also available if it rains and you left your galoshes at home, although some tours encourage walkers to brave the day's challenge, whatever form it may take. Admission costs for winery visits, museums, or other scheduled attractions along the tour's route should also be included in your fee.