The 4 Best National Parks In France

The nature protection areas are unique sites that offer incredible spaces for you to know and appreciate in all its value. If you like to explore this type of landscape, we invite you to discover the best national parks in France and their perfect itineraries for ecological tourism.

While the French National Parks Law was enacted in 1960, the country has a history of natural preservation policies dating back to 1861, when the Fontainebleau Forest Reserve was created.

All the national parks of France

At present, there are 11 national parks in the Gallic country, and they are administered by the Ministry of Ecology and the Biodiversity Office. This is the list with its years of creation.

• Vanoise (1963).
• Port-Cros (1963).
• Pyrenees (1967).
• Cévennes (1970).
• Ecrins (1973).
• Mercantour (1979 ).
• Guadalupe (1989).
• Reunion (2007).
• Guyana (2007).
• Calanques (2012).
• National Forest Park (2019).

Nature and landscapes as poles of tourist attraction

France’s national parks occupy 8% of the territory —56,819 square kilometers— and receive more than 8 million visitors each year. The attractions are many: the natural and cultural heritage, the landscapes, the picturesque villages and the ways of life and traditions that survive the passage of time.

For all this, each space has to offer particular beauties and magnificent settings. Find out which ones are the most prominent below.

1. Cevenas National Park

Located in the south of the country, in the Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions, the Parc National des Cévennes is the largest in mainland France. It is located in a mid-mountain environment —1000 meters above sea level— and is a refuge with more than 2500 animal species, diverse flora and the largest Starry Sky Reserve in Europe. Here also the agropastoral landscapes are declared under preservation.

For lovers of outdoor activities, there are facilities for skiing, rock climbing, boating, mountain biking and hiking. Some of the available proposals are:

• 300 circular and hiking trails to do in the day.
• Circuits to travel by bicycle and on horseback.
• Discovery trails to travel as a family.
• Long-distance routes, such as the great crossing of the Massif Central, which consists of 1,390 kilometers on all-terrain bicycles (MTB).
• Accessible spaces and circuits for people with reduced mobility.
• Museums like Maison Rougem, the Museum of the Desert and Cévenol.

2. Vanoise National Park

In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and twinned since 1972 with the Gran Paradiso National Park of Italy, is this preservation area that has landscapes of meadows, valleys and alpine mountains, which have peaks of more than 3000 meters.

The flora of the place adds more than 1400 species, and the fauna includes a great variety of birds and specimens characteristic of the area. For example, you can find here mountain goats, ibex, marmots and chamois, among others.

Hiking is one of the favorite activities of visitors to the park, since here they find more than 500 kilometers of trails with different levels of difficulty and travel time. A challenge for the most trained hikers is to complete the Tour of the Glaciers, an adventure with almost unreal landscapes.

Likewise, there are geological interpretation centers, museum spaces, ski slopes and discovery trails in the park , among which the following stand out:

• L’Orgère (Villarodin-Bourget).
• Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
• Le Bois (Champagny-le-Haut), accessible for people with motor disabilities.
• Le Lavachet (Tignes).
• Rosuel (Peisey-Nancroix).

3. Calanques National Park

On the French Mediterranean coast, between the cities of Marseille and Cassis, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, is the Parc National des Calanques. It is a protected area that encompasses very diverse environments such as peri-urban areas, mountains, coasts and the sea.

The word calanques derives from the union of two words of Provençal origin: cala, which means ‘rocky place’; and anca, which means ‘with a lot of slope’. Some of the most famous coves in the park are Calanque de Port-Pin, Sugiton, Sormiou, Morgiou , and d’En-Vau .

The park is home to more than 200 species of animals —terrestrial and marine— and flora adapted to the coastal environment and rocky soil. In this site, the presence of numerous cultural heritage – including the Castle of If, the Cosquer caves, Carolina Hospital, Villa Michel Simón, among others – is combined with a natural environment where you can go hiking, fishing, swimming. , climbing, rowing, diving, cycling and mountain biking.

4. Forêts, the most recent national park in France

The last national park created in France is in the Grand-Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regions. This is a territory of hills and valleys located on the limestone plateau of Langres.

It is made up of more than 50,000 hectares destined to the protection of forests and natural landscapes of marshes and meadows, where emblematic species such as the forest cat, deer, foxes and the black stork live. In addition, the Parc National de Forêts is a water preservation space, since it has more than 600 kilometers of rivers and streams.

This park is ideal for people looking for a relaxed, quiet and completely natural place of tourism. A perfect place to rest and meditate!

However, if you like to be active, you also have cycling, hiking, tree climbing circuits, ornithological observations and various proposals to appreciate the forests, such as those offered by maison de la Foret , designed to enjoy with the family.

Nature tourism in the best national parks of France

Natural and cultural conservation areas have a delicate balance that must be protected. Therefore, it is necessary to educate and make visitors aware so that they are careful during their activities in these wonderful environments. The idea is that future generations can continue to delight in these landscapes for many years to come.

If you are an adventurer who loves nature and you want to see magnificent places, you should include an itinerary through one of the national parks of France on your next trip. Just remember to enjoy with responsibility and respect for the environment.