Release - Hiking in Western France

FRANCE—With its lovely countryside dotted with magnificent castles, vineyards and charming villages, France is an ideal destination for active vacations. The gentle terrain and many splendid sites also make it the ultimate hiker’s paradise.

Founded over 11 years ago, Discover France consists of specialists that create cycling and hiking/walking tours throughout France, offering travelers creative itineraries that feature the best of each region at the greatest possible value.

This season Discover France is offering travelers four blissful, scenery-packed hiking tours in western France. The physical demands of the tours range from easy to challenging - but all offer unique opportunities to discover French culture and lifestyle.

The Loire Valley is one of France's most revered regions. The five day/six night Loire Garden and Vineyards Tour presents a feast for the eyes, and the many chateaux offer countless beautiful gardens for exploration. The flat-to-rolling terrain is perfect for hiking and is filled with trees, flora and splendid colors. Visitors will experience impressive Gothic and Renaissance architecture of the 15th & 16th centuries, hikes through the wine country of Chinon and Saumur, and tour the historic and awe-inspiring Fontevraud Abbey. The tour is priced at 867 euros pp/double occupancy.

The Loire Chateaux Hike is six days and seven nights and will take guests into the heart of “King Valley”. The valley has seen many of France’s kings pass through its regions and is most famous for its extravagant castles built during the renaissance period. These elegant chateaux with their stunning gardens celebrated the pleasure of life. The castles of the Renaissance were not built to defend against enemies, but were built for decorating the landscape and to illustrate the new prosperity of France. Listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, the valley offers so many chateaux, mansions, churches, and abbeys that a visitor can’t possibly see it all. Priced at 1195 euros per person (double occupancy), the hike is mostly over flat terrain and encompasses vineyards, low river lands, and mystical forests.

At the border of Brittany and Normandy in France, the Bay of the Mont Saint Michel shelters one of the jewels of the western Christian art, the iconic Mont Saint Michel. The Mont Saint Michel and Coast Hiking Tour begins in the beautiful seaside city of St. Malo with a walk along the coast; keeping the ever impressive Mont constantly in view. Guests anticipation will heighten the closer they become to the Mont, and along the way they will be charmed by the quiet beauty, lovely flora, and the thousands of birds that claim the bay as their home. Other tour highlights include picturesque harbor villages, beaches, lighthouses, markets, seafood. The tour consists of four nights and five days and is priced at 890 euros pp/double occupancy.

The Coastal Normandy Tour lasts seven nights and eight days (price TBD) and is sure to please travelers with its gastronomic delights. There are two divisions of Normandy: The Basse-Normandy and the Haute-Normandy. The region of Basse-Normandy is represented by picturesque valleys with granite ground and is a region of agriculture, especially for wheat, milk and other dairy products. In addition to its cider and Calvados, Normandy produces the famous Camembert cheese. The region of Haute-Normandy is so named because of its position on the map. This region has a very diversified landscape. Normandy France is well known for the WWII landing beaches used by the Allied armies. There is much to see and remember there of those times as travelers follow the walking tour along some of the beaches such as Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword, Gold.

For a sample itinerary, photos and booking information call 800-960-2221 or visit DiscoverFrance.com