Members' personal websites · France

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a tour of the light trails in Paris and Île-de-France this winter. I’ve compiled the events still running or coming up for the 2026–2027 season, with dates, times, and prices. Maybe this’ll help others!

In Paris L’Odyssée Lumineuse — Parc floral, Paris 12th From November 14, 2026, to January 24, 2027. 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM, last entry at 9:30 PM. Note: several closures during the week. Dated ticket: 13 € adult / 11 € child aged 3 to 12; free for under 3s. On the program: giant lanterns, illuminated fountains, and northern lights effects.

Nuits Indiennes — Jardin d’Acclimatation, Paris 16th From November 27, 2026, to February 21, 2027. 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM, last entry at 9:00 PM. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays outside Zone C school holidays. Announced prices: 18 € adult / 12 € child. A trail around India, with around 2,000 lanterns and light sculptures.

In Seine-et-Marne — 77 Lumigny Safari de Lumières — Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux From October 15, 2026, to January 3, 2027. 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, last entry at 8:30 PM. Thursday to Sunday outside school holidays, with more dates during the holidays. Closed December 24, 25, and 31, as well as January 1. Night trail only: 16.90 € for ages 11+ / 14.90 € for ages 3 to 10; free for under 3s. Lanterns on themes of the deep sea, animals, and fantastical creatures.

Le Grand Noël de Vaux-le-Vicomte — Maincy From November 14, 2026, to January 3, 2027, according to the schedule. Generally from 10:30 AM to 8:00 PM, with some evenings until 9:00 PM. Reduced hours on December 24 and 31; closed December 25 and January 1. Château + gardens: from 25.90 € adult / 20.90 € child aged 3 to 17. Higher prices on weekends and during holidays. This isn’t a lantern festival *per se*: more of a visit to the decorated château and gardens, with illuminations and projections on the façade.

In Yvelines — 78 Thoiry Lumières Sauvages — Thoiry From October 17, 2026, to March 7, 2027, according to the schedule. Generally from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, last entry at 8:00 PM, but hours vary by date. Night trail only: 23 € adult, or 25 € from December 19 to January 2; 19 € child aged 3 to 10. Nearly 3 km of walking among light sculptures, on the theme “In the Footsteps of Pachamama.”

La Nuit des Géants — France Miniature, Élancourt From November 28, 2026, to January 3, 2027, according to the schedule. Entry slots from 5:30 PM, with last entries at 8:30 PM or 9:00 PM depending on the period. Tickets start at 18 €; prices vary by date and category. A new light trail among miniature monuments, showcasing Christmas traditions from French regions.

One extra one-off event Parade lumineuse des Allebrilles — La Villette, Paris 19th December 5, 2026, free. Check the time. A procession of light creatures and puppets, rather than a trail open all winter.

Prices are based on the info I gathered, but it’s best to check the schedule and session prices on each official site before heading out.

I’d also like to film these outings to prepare a recap video for YouTube. If anyone’s already done these trails with a camera or stabilizer, I’d love your feedback: how was the equipment welcome, crowd levels, ability to stop and film? I’m also checking with the organizers about broadcasting permissions.

Know any others like this in Île-de-France, or have feedback on these?

Hi everyone, Last July, we crossed the Isle of Beauty from north to south along the famous GR 20. We chose to complete it in 16 stages, finishing with a relaxing day in Porto-Vecchio. It’s certainly a physical challenge but also a wonderful human adventure. We’d dreamed of doing it, we did it, and we really don’t regret taking the plunge. I won’t go into detail about each stage or all the preparation because I’ve already covered it here: GR 20 recap in 16 stages. But I wanted to share a few photos with you and maybe inspire you to take the plunge like we did. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can.

The northern stages (the toughest ones): lots of elevation gain, rocky landscapes, beautiful lakes, breathtaking viewpoints, and technical sections. Every minute counts—time feels thicker in the north! The southern stages: less rocky, lower altitude, more forested, but still with their own challenges.

A few photos to give you an idea:

Hello

The site Les Soay de Picardie was created to promote and raise awareness about our Soay sheep and to showcase our region, Picardy, as well as other regions through travel articles. There are also tourist events, like the current "Le Souffle de la Terre" in Ailly-sur-Noye in the Oise. The Traditional Camping category is linked to the site CampingTraditionnel.fr, featuring regional maps of campsites with at least 50% bare pitches, along with articles about the camping world. In the Miscellaneous Topics category, you’ll find subcategories: 1) Travel tips, including travel insurance, visas, health, and advice from fellow travelers 2) Travel articles from around the world—Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, and North America

Hi there,

We're finding it harder and harder to locate campsites with non-serviced pitches for tents, caravans, or motorhomes. To help fellow travelers, I’ve put together maps by region showing campsites with at least 50% non-serviced pitches. I’ve also mapped out farm campsites, which are often small, charming setups. You can find all these maps in the category here: https://lessoaydepicardie.fr/cartes-des-campings-traditionnels-en-france/. Click on the maps to visit the "Camping Traditionnel" site, which is a subdomain.

Hi there,

I’m the creator of the site RandoCamping. A new hiking-planning feature has just been added to the site. It might interest anyone who likes to prepare their hike or trip in advance, in France, whether on foot or by bike.

https://randocamping.touteslatitudes.fr/ma-rando

How it works... Upload a GPX file, choose your number of days and effort level, and the app automatically splits your route into daily stages with accommodation searches based on your criteria. The calculated stages can be manually adjusted, and once you're happy with your breakdown, all that's left is to select the accommodations that suit you for each night. The route for each stage can also be fine-tuned using the Route Editing and Calculation tool. The final itinerary, with your customized stages, can be exported in GPX format to take with you on your navigation device. Your hike can be retrieved and modified at any time once you’ve saved it in GPX format.

More info on this page: https://randovelo.touteslatitudes.fr/randocamping-planifier-ma-rando/

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

Hi there, Why not explore Honfleur, supposedly well-known, but do you know about these hidden gems?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrf0ESKxud8

I’ve had the chance to visit friends in the Aude region—Cathar country—several times and explore this area between Leucate and Carcassonne, including the famous Corbières Road 20 and the Cathar Castles Road.

Check out my article for a list of the castles and abbeys to visit along this route. Read the full post soon, and I look forward to hearing from you! Post

Hi there! I’m Simon, and for years I’ve been exploring some of Europe’s most beautiful and well-equipped bike paths. My passion for cycling led me to start a blog where I share my travel impressions, practical tips, and photos taken along the way. I ride both well-known routes like the Alpe-Adria, the Loire à Vélo, and the Rhein Route, as well as lesser-known but equally charming regions.



In my stories, I pay special attention to the quality of infrastructure, cyclist safety, and route accessibility—for young and old, experienced riders and beginners alike. I love discovering and sharing spots that are truly welcoming for cycle tourists: well-marked, with rest areas and easy train access.

On the blog, you’ll find ready-to-follow route suggestions, tips for preparing your bike trips, and plenty of inspiration for your next adventures. I travel with my panniers, a camera in the front bag, and always keep an eye out for what’s around me. Feel free to check out my blog, Cycling Thread—you might find some ideas for your next bike getaway! :-)

* * *

I hope this won’t just be a one-off post—I’ll try to share our bike trips with you here regularly. To start: our May trip on the Elberadweg, the queen of German bike paths, between the stunning city of Dresden and Magdeburg. I invite you to visit:

Elberadweg in Germany – From Dresden to Magdeburg

The Elbe bike path is about 1200 km long, following the river from its source in the Giant Mountains in the Czech Republic to its mouth in Cuxhaven, on the North Sea. The route crosses a variety of landscapes: mountain valleys, vineyards, open plains, and coastline. As is often the case in Germany, the signage is excellent and the route easy to follow.

But what surprised us was the number of cobblestone sections! Sure, the cobblestones are well-laid and fairly smooth—but they’re still cobblestones. And when they disappear, they’re often replaced by concrete slabs, typical of river dikes. That’s just part of the face of this 30-year-old "queen"—a heritage that’s hard to replace entirely with fresh asphalt.

Along the way, don’t miss the many cultural highlights. Dresden impresses with its restored old town, the Frauenkirche, and the Brühl Terraces along the Elbe—it’s one of Germany’s most elegant cities. In Meissen, you can visit the famous porcelain factory and its Gothic cathedral. Wittenberg is a must-stop to follow in Martin Luther’s footsteps, with its castle church and Reformation Museum. And to finish, in Dessau-Roßlau, besides the Bauhaus, don’t miss the stunning Dessau-Wörlitz landscape gardens—one of the oldest English-style parks in Europe.

A few photos to give you a feel for the route and inspire you to check out our blog! :-)











Happy cycling!

Simon

Hi there, I’m sharing my hiking itineraries on the sea-to-sea trails in Corsica. Perfect for those who want to discover Corsica on foot and are looking for multi-day hikes without major difficulties. That’s right—Corsica isn’t just about the GR 20! My travel journals are all written day by day.

🐻 Mare a Mare Sud + Mare è Monti Sud 👍🏼 TRAVEL JOURNAL A 175-kilometer route with 6,694 meters of elevation gain over 10 stages on the Mare a Mare Sud and Mare è Monti Sud trails in Corsica 🇨🇵 🐻 Mare a Mare Centre 👍🏼 TRAVEL JOURNAL A 106-kilometer route with 4,415 meters of elevation gain over 6 stages on the Mare a Mare Centre trails in Corsica 🇨🇵

🐻 Mare a Mare Nord 👍🏼 TRAVEL JOURNAL A 165-kilometer route with 7,004 meters of elevation gain over 7 stages on the Mare a Mare Nord trails in Corsica 🇨🇵

Here are my two blogs dedicated to travel, especially in France.

If you have any topics you'd like me to cover, I'm all ears!

Villes.fr Top-Vacances.com

Thanks, and have a great day

The Great Jura Crossing on foot is a long-distance hiking trail (GR) that winds through the Jura Mountains, from Mandeure, near Montbéliard (in the north), to Culoz in the Ain region (in the south). The GTJ fully crosses the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park and offers a detour into neighboring Switzerland. Inaugurated in 2004, the GTJ on foot follows the GR GTJ long-distance trails and sometimes the GR 5 and GR 9.

The full GTJ hike takes 15 to 20 days. Since my vacation time isn’t unlimited, I opted for a 10-day trek from Pont-de-Roide to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, covering nearly 320 kilometers (so about 60 kilometers short) with 10,000 meters of elevation gain—and just as much descent. The route is classic, except for the must-do variant via the Colomby de Gex (Balcon du Léman).

Accommodations include mountain huts, step lodges, and guest rooms with tables loaded with Morbier cheese gratin, Morteau sausages, rösti, and michons... Oh, and I almost forgot: I’m hiking solo...

http://lerandonneurfou.blogspot.fr/2014/05/la-grande-traversee-du-jura-gtj.html

GR20 Experience – North to South

Hey there, I’m sharing a video recap of our GR20 trek here. We set off to do both the North and South sections, but I got injured and had to stop at Vizzavona while my brother carried on to complete the full traverse.

It’s a vlog, not a technical guide: landscapes, vibes, exhaustion, moments of doubt, and the reality on the ground. If it can help or give a concrete glimpse of the GR20 to those planning the trek, here’s the link:

👋 https://youtu.be/-zxLWzGXyCc?si=s-6STr98p9dSrDnR

Enjoy the watch! !

In June 2025, I walked across the Larzac, following the footsteps of the decade-long struggle that pitted a handful of farmers and citizens from all walks of life against the army and the government from 1971 to 1981.

Six days of trekking along the GR71D through a landscape shaped by agropastoral traditions, Caussenard farms, and Templar and Hospitaller fortresses, visiting iconic sites and meeting the historical figures of the struggle. I also met those who keep this plateau alive today. Full story:

https://uneaventureparjour.fr/2025/05/07/le-tour-du-larzac/

Hi everyone, I’d like to share my travel blog about France, destinations around the world, and especially Corsica: Top-vacances.com

If you’ve got any topic ideas to suggest, I’m all ears.

Hi, I’m Emile Le Jeune, a young IT student in Brest doing my BTS, and I’m currently on an Erasmus internship in Poland. I’m working with a classmate to create a website about our city. We’re covering various aspects of Brest—its history, activities you can do, nearby towns (Quimper, Concarneau, Morlaix, etc.), and we want the site to be really focused on tourism around Brest. It’s still under development, and we plan to make more changes. I’m posting here to ask for feedback—if you have any comments, criticisms, or suggestions for improvements, don’t hesitate! We’re still beginners in this field, so please bear with us :pray: If you’re curious, our site is infobrest

Have a great day

¡Hola everyone! 🇪🇸✨ We dared to leave everything behind to make our dream come true: a new life in Spain! 🌍🔥 If you're curious to discover our adventure, our challenges, and our first steps under the Andalusian sun, come join us!

👉 Tips, struggles, magical moments—we’re sharing it all here: https://youtu.be/QEDXWU_TyOA?si=b3q__rspjjKp39LW

If you’ve got any advice or you’re also on this journey, don’t hesitate to connect with us! We support each other as adventurers! 😉💪

¡Gracias a todos and see you soon! 🎥✨

Several years ago, I discovered the Val Cenis resort. It was love at first sight, and I’ve been going back whenever I can. Plus, the Haute Maurienne valley is stunning, and you can take the opportunity to visit Bessans and Bonneval-sur-Arc. It’s truly a beautiful place where authenticity is preserved, perfect for spending a few days in the mountains during winter and skiing. I wrote an article about this resort on my blog: https://www.hunza.pro/2025/01/vacances-d-hiver-a-val-cenis-ski-rando-et-decouverte-de-la-vallee-de-la-haute-maurienne.html