Discover the French National Parks.
Ecologist stay in the national parks.
The National park of Mercantour: Inaugurated in 1979, the Park of Mercantour results from a very long evolution which starts in 1859 with the decision of Victor-Emmanuel II king of Piemont Sardinia who created a Royal Reserve of Hunting, with the aim of safeguarding the chamois and ibexes, species threatened by extinction. Today the Park of Mercantour extends on a zone covering about thirty cities, villages and winter sports resorts on Alpes de Haute Provence and Alpes Maritimes, in particular Barcelonette, Isola2000, Saint-Etienne de Tinee or Tende. Various courses of excursions are proposed to the holiday makers. These courses are classified in 3 categories (easy, confirmed and sporting). They offer the discovery of the richness of fauna and flora. To stay on the Park of Mercantour, many Panda lodgings and refuges of altitude were installed in the zone. There also exists other structures of lodging, in camp-site, hotel in half-board or full board or guestrooms, with or without meals.
- Camp-site: The list of the camp-sites can be obtained by contacting the Regional committee Tourism. One is reminded that there is no camp-site in the middle of the park. Only the bivouac in the respect of some conditions.
- Hotels in and around the mercantour. No difficulty to find a hotel or a stay in full or half-board in the around Mercantour. Nearly all the villages have at least an establishment, that one can find on the sites www.guideriviera.fr and www.alpes-haute-provence.com. In the same way, to find a holiday rental or guest-house, it is advised to visit the www.gites-de-france-alpes-maritimes.com site. For more information, consult http://www.mercantour.eu.The National park of the Cevennes: Between Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhone-Alps, the park of the Cevennes extends on more than 150 cities and villages of the departments of Gard, Lozere and Ardeche. This park which knew to reconcile economic development and respect of local and cultural traditions, is classified as a "Reserve of Biosphere" by UNESCO. Here, the hikers will discover according to their courses, the gorges of the Tarn, the arid plate of Causses or the Lozere Mount. He will also discover formerly threatened animal species, which today reproduce, inter alia, the otter, beaver of Europe or the chiroptere (bat). Where to sleep in the National park of the Cevennes. For more information you can consult http://www.cevennes-parcnational.fr.
The National park of the Pyrenees: Located on the departments of the Atlantic Pyrenees in Aquitaine region and the High Pyrenees in Midi-Pyrenees area, the park of the Pyrenees is joint with the National park of Ordesa Mont Perdu in Spain. Located apart from its limits, the National Reserve of Neouvielle, in valley of Aure and the National Natural reserve of the Vautours Fauves of Ossau depend on the park. To know and protect fauna (inter alia the bears, izards and raptors) and the flora local, are the two essential missions of the park. The hikers have a territory established on the 6 valleys of the park: Aspe, Ossau, Azun, Cauterets, Luz et Aure. Splendid landscapes are to be discovered such the circus of Gavarnie or the Pyrenean lakes. Lodgings in the park of the Pyrenees. Each valley counts at least a refuge. The reservations are obligatory. In addition, it is possible to remain in half-board or full board in the tourist villages of the zone (spa of Eaux-Bonnes-Gourette, ski station of Luz-Ardiden or Valley of Aspe …). The http://www.parc-pyrenees.com site provides a very complete documentation on the park and its activities.
The National park of the Ecrins: Located between Briançon, Gap and the Bourg d'Oisans, the park of the Ecrins is a natural laboratory where not only are studied and counted the various species resident, but where the glaciers and the evolution of the human life are also studied. The park is a perfect place for the amateurs of winter excursions and the observation of fauna in this period of the year. The use of long sights is advised to observe the animals and to avoid disturbing them. It is of course possible to discover the park in summer; 700 kilometers of marked out paths are at the disposal of hikers, in particular the GR54. Where to stay in the Park of the Ecrins. Nearly 40 refuges can accommodate the holiday makers. It is strongly advised to book the places, especially in wintry time. In addition, the winter sports resorts of the area, inter alia Serre-Chevalier, Les 2 Alpes or Orcieres-Merlette have an important capacity of reception in hotel, seasonal hirings or guesthouses. To plan a stay in the park des Ecrins, you can visit http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr.
The National park of Port Cros: Created in 1963, the National park of Port Cros is a park intended for the safeguarding of the marine and terrestria fauna and floral, in particular the species of algae, a small batrachian, the Sardinian discoglosse and a threatened small reptile, the phyllodactylus of Europe. Geographically, this park is distributed on several sites: Port Cros, Porquerolles, peninsula of Giens and Domaine of Cap Lardier. Here, the excursions are pedestrian towards the beaches of Plaud, South and Port-Man, but also marine with a guided visit of sea-beds.
Where to place in the vicinity of Park of Port Cros. The offers of lodging are varied on this very tourist portion of the Var coast. It is possible to remain in hotel in full board in Porquerolles. Many solutions of hirings of holidays in Hyeres. It is preferable to book several months in advance its seasonal renting in the vicinity of park. For complementary informations, you can consult the official site http://www.portcrosparcnational.fr.The National park of Vanoise: Located in Haute-Savoie in the Rhone-Alps area, this park is twinned with the National park of the Great Paradise in Italy, with which it is joint. The park extends on 29 communes. The hikers have access to 600 kilometers of marked out paths, with in particular the GR. 5 and 55. Fauna and the flora count many protected spaces (otter, hare, chamois, ibex, gypaetes...).
Many winter sports resorts of the Alps of north belong to the Park, in particular the Arcs, Courchevel, Meribel, Les Menuires, Pralognan Vanoise, Tignes, Val d'Isere or Val thorens.
To stay in the National park of Vanoise. The winter sports resorts have a great capacity of reception and the holiday makers will not have any difficulty to find a hotel in the vicinity of Vanoise, or in Meribel or Courchevel country cottage for rent. In addition, the park has 16 refuges for the hikers. It is advised to book in advance a hiring for the periods end of December/turn of January (Christmas and New Year holidays ), February and Easter. For more information, you can consult the site of the park http://www.parcnational-vanoise.fr.The National park of the Calanques should be open at the end of the year 2010: It will extend along the coasts from the Rhone delta and the Var.
To find a hotel close to a national park or in a French tourist city, our hotel site proposes several offers of stay to you.