Hiking and walking guided tours , cultural walks , in southern French Alps, Mercantour, French Riviera. Snowboots in winter .

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HIKING TOURS in France and Italy

Guided walking and trekking tours in the french and italian Alps, Mercantour, Provence, Italy,
with a local english-speaking french mountain guide

On snowshoes in the heart of the Mercantour

Vallee des Merveilles and Mercantour (1 to 6 days)

The famous CinqueTerre in Liguria, Italy (5 days)

Treks between France and Italy : Mercantour Argentera (6 or 7 days)

The best of Dolomites in Italy (4 or 7 days)

Retrouvance: forest trails in Haut Verdon and Haute Provence (6 days)

The Luberon and Alpilles in Provence (3 and 7 days)

In the footsteps of the itinerant painters in the French Azure Alps (2, 3, 5 days)

ON SNOWSHOES 
IN THE SOUTHERN ALPS MERCANTOUR

Winter mountains: these are silent forests, animals footsteps, shining areas...
You must discover it on snowshoes, so you don't disturb this nature, its quietness and its fragility. If beginners, you will have short and efficient explanations about this easy art. So you feel the essential part of this activity: a magic world.

Tours :
1 day or 1 week-end

Level : 
click  note (1)
from very easy to medium,
according to the tour

Dates :
- 1 day: 1 Sunday of 2, from January to April (or more, according to the snaowing)
 - 1week-end per month

- other ideas for groups:.
please ask us

Lodging : 
- in a nice mountain new hotel, half-board
or
- in a mountain hiking guesthouse 

Snowboots renting
 is possible on the spot (please ask us in advance)
Cost :
 click note (2) 
1 full day  24 €
2 days / 
1 night 		 from 95 €
3 days / 
2 nights 		 from 155 €

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    zigzag04.jpg (243719 octets)

Something special:
THE PETROGLYPHS
"LA VALLEE DES MERVEILLES"

  Merveilles-gene3.jpg (168800 octets)

Is that the "wonderland valley"? Take one or two days or more to travel far back in the past time, to discover the fantastic scenery of a very ancient and still mysterious art in the wild nature, on thousands of open-air engraved rocks (your guide is specially authorized by the Mercantour National Park to lead you on these strictly protected areas).

Different  tours:
1 day,  
2 days / 1 night,  
3days / 2nights,
7 days / 6 nights


Level: click (1)
from medium  

Dates: 
- in June:
-> dates coming soon
- in July:
-> dates coming soon
- in August:
-> dates coming soon

- in September:
-> dates coming soon

- more from June to October:
please ask us

Accommodation:

- in mountain huts (hiking shelters)

- on half board
Duration Cost:
 click note (2) 
1 day 29 €  
2 days / 1 night  109 €
3 days / 2 nights  199 €
6 days / 5 nights 495 €

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Rando par le village de Riomaggiore



THE CINQUE TERRE:

Five Italian timeless villages and trails,
overlooking the sea

Rando sur les sentiers de la côte aux Cinque terre

As pearls on the cliff above the sea, these 5 medieval villages had chosen the isolation for their safety. Thus, for centuries beyond the attention of the outside world, they lived in near self-sufficiency, with seafood and cultivation of wineyards, olives, citrus. By their authenticity, but also the magnificent beauty of their sites, they were classified in 1997 as a World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The circuit we propose is steep but easy, often as a balcony overlooking the deep blue sea. You will go from a village to another by old footpaths, sometimes slipping between the cultivated plates, sometimes alternating freshness of high pines and fantastic light of a rocky outcrop.

Please note: for the spring 2010, we alse propose a cheaper lodging in a cute youth hostel, please ask us.

Here are some pictures...

Duration: 

 - 5 days / 4 or 5 nights

Level : 
for everybody in a normal shape

Dates:

- ---- May 2010

- ---- July 2010

 What is included:

- lodging in italian local comfortable hotels,
- halfboard,
- starting point: Levanto (Italie)
- no big bag to carry

- it is possible to arrive and lodge there, 1 day before and 1 day after the hiking, please ask us
Durée Prix total 
par pers.
voir note (1)
5 days /
4 nights 		 390 / 455 €
more or less nights ask us

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 from Mercantour...

STRADDLING THE BORDER:
MERCANTOUR - France
ARGENTERA - Italy

... to Argentera Italy

Either in France or in Italy, here is a nearly 3000 meters high trekking, crossing the french-italian border some times from Mercantour to Argentera through high paths, between lakes and summits, being observed by many wild chamois and marmots.
We propose 2 different treks, a "normal" one and an easier one.

Duration:
7 days-6 nights

Level : click note (1)
medium to high

Dates:

- from ------- (the normal trek)

- from ---------- (an easier trek, with no big bag to carry, shorter slopes)
Join it now !

Accommodation:

- in italian and french shelters
- on half board

+ picnics are available

Before and/or after hiking, lodging is available -> please ask us.

 Duration

7d / 6n
Cost
click note (2)		 from 575 / 595 €

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 hiking in Dolomites



2 DIFFERENT WAYS FOR APPROACHING THE DOLOMITES
IN ITALY

The italian Dolomites leads ou between very typical peaks and rocky summits, overviewing ice-mountains, crossing wild forests near large alpine lakes. Out of the "via ferrata", our trek does not request technical experience; some light cabled parts of the path are usable by anybody, and your guide will help you if needed. Do not forget the italian shelters are well-known for their fair welcoming, and cooking...


- Duration: 7 days / 6 nights, OR 4 days / 3 nights
including the walking days leading, all organization from and back to Dobbiaco, the nights in mountain shelters on half board, the bus transfer at the end of the trek.

Some extras are optional : the 7/4 picnic lunches, 1 or 2 nights before/after the trek ( hotels and camping are available)

- Dates: coming soon (7 days), and -------- (4 days)

- Level cf note (1): medium to high

- Cost cf note (2):
from 630 € (7 days, eastern Dolomites)
and from 350 € (4 days, in Brenta) 

Why we offer more:

- 2 different hikes :
--- a real great classical one, 7 days in the eastern part of Dolomites),based on an optimized calculation of costs, with optional choices that allow you to minimize your expenses or to be more comfortable ;
--- and a shorter one, 4 days, in the Dolomites of Brenta, easier, an excellent way of approaching these huge summits.

- and also:
your guide speaks fluent german, that is the most spoken language in this area.

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 HAUT VERDON and MERCANTOUR:
IN FOREST HUTS
ON FOREST FOOTPATHS

 Cabane-de-Bressange.jpg (119057 octets)
Here are some pictures... Organized by the french National Forest Office and Retrouvance --> Registration : click here

Duration: 6 days / 5 nights
Starting and arriving village: Thorame (04), that you easily reach from Nice (06) or Digne (04) by train (the cute "Train des Pignes")

Dates: about 25 départures in Summer
---> SPECIAL international groups (with an english-speaking guide) :
--- dates to be leaded by Jean-Michel: 21/6/10, 16/8/10, 29/8/10 ;
--- all the dates: here

Accommodation: you'll spend comfortable and unusual nights in some typical forest huts, previously used by the forest guards
Level: medium-easy. No rücksack to carry.

PRICE: 540 € , all included as following:
--- all conveniences, including showers,
--- a specially high quality full board,
--- the daily separate transportation of your bags.

---> Registration: click here

 -> More information on the website:

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the Alpilles mountain

ALPILLES and LUBERON

Summer camping and hiking

Starting from the famous village Les Baux de Provence, under the provençal almost never-changing blue sky, through the Alpilles hills (so-called "La Montagnette"), then through the famous Luberon cliffs... between lavenders and olive-trees, you will never forget it !

Our tours:
- 3 days/2 nights
- 7 days/6 nights

Level: 
click note (1)
rather easy

Dates:
- 3-days tour in Alpilles, - then 3-days tour in Luberon,
+ 1 day between for transferring by bus,
- OR together the 7-days tour:
-> dates coming soon

- and also
at your request

 Accommodation and facilities: 
- in camping sites,
- half board lodging
+ Available transportation from the Avignon TGV train station

+ Available hôtel in Les Baux de Provence, or in Luberon, before or after the tour
Duration
Cost:
 click note (2) 
3 days /
2 nights
from 195 € 
7 days /
6 nights
from 450 € 

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IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE ITINERANT PAINTERS IN THE FRENCH AZURE ALPS

While walking on the old paths that were used by pilgrims, artists and tradesmen, you will discover some evocative painted chapels and altar-screens, and will understand this religious art in which the fears, the hopes and the believes are legible: you learn and feel the spirit and the life of the medieval mountain people.

Different  tours: 
1 day,
2 days / 1 night,
5 days / 4 nights

Level:
Very easy, for everybody
Dates:
- in May
- in June
- in September and October

- and also all year round:
please ask us
 Accommodation:

- either in a comfortable mountain inn,
- or in a hiking shelter.
- on half board

- lunchboxes are available.
Duration Cost:
 click note (2) 
1 day 24 € 
2 days /
1 night 		 from 95 €
5 days /
4 nights 		 from 460 €

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Needing more information ?
Please visit our Who's who web page, or call us at (33)(0)4 94 47 54 40, or send us an e-mail by clicking here :

Here you can download our sales terms.

 Note (1): Difficulty levels:
easy: : no specific experience of the mountain hiking, 2 to 5 walking hours a day
medium: rather good physical state, 4 to 6 walking hours a day
high: partly requiring an experience of the mountain, 7 to 9 walking hours a day.

Note (2): The price of each tour may depend on the level of comfort you choose. 

SEE YOU SOON...      A big marmot in Mercantour

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