The black and white landscape on our doorstep is slowly starting to get to us. But it will be quite a while before the first green shoots appear on the trees. Of course, you could hop on a plane and escape to the lush greenery of the Canary Islands. However, the effort involved would be great and, if you are dependent on holidays, also very expensive.
A spring trip to the south of France would be much cheaper and perhaps even more colourful. Here, spring starts to sweep across the foothills of the Alps as early as mid-March and the region has no shortage of exciting trails. Here are four spots that have what it takes for a sunny Easter:
1 Trans-Vaucluse: Mont Ventoux and red Lubéron
Already fit enough for a six-day stage adventure? Then let's dive into the colourful pot of this tour in Provence! The route starts in Savoillan, balances over the ridge of the Rocher du Charles and passes the ochre cliffs of La Font de Loup.
On the third day, it's up the legendary Mont Ventoux, but back down again on an ingenious trail. Spectacular gorges lead on towards Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt, where not only the fiery red rocky trails in the Lubéron mountains await, but also even more colourful, fragrant lavender fields from the end of May.
A real super tour through the entire Vaucluse department. The trail section is high - both uphill and downhill - and challenging. The webcam at Mont Ventoux (highest point of the tour at 1445 metres) will tell you whether the route is already snow-free.
Tour info Trans-Vaucluse
- Length: 276.6 kilometres
- Uphill: 7110 metres in altitude
- >> Three enduro rounds in Saint-Saturnin in the Great Luberon
- Info: bike-france.com
2 Ardèche: through the wild, white canyons
The water of the Ardèche washes through the gorges in all shades of blue and green. Depending on whether you are looking down on the river bends from one of the high plateaus or cooling your feet in it during a break.
The Ardèche is a popular destination for kayakers, but mountain bikers still have the Monts d'Ardèche all to themselves. "Inexplicable", as our tour author Patrick Kunkel finds, because the mountains in the low mountain range are criss-crossed by so-called calades: kilometres of trails that connect one village with another. Metres of altitude in a sawtooth profile - perfect for the first trail laps in spring!
Tour info Ardèche
3 Vercors: rock fortress with an eagle's eye view
Vercors - never heard of it? It is a French mountain range in the foothills of the Alps, around 150 kilometres south of Geneva. However, the Vercors does not typically rise up with gentle hills, but instead juts out of the ground like a fortress with massive rock faces.
Eagles and vultures circle above the rocky ridges of Mont Aiguille (2086 m), while deer, ibex, roe deer, mouflon and wild boar can be seen on the extensive high plateaus. A nature park that you wouldn't expect to find in a fairground like the Alps.
Tour info Vercours
4 Massif Central: the green volcanic chain
Hundreds of volcanoes once piled up the French Massif Central. The cone-shaped peaks clearly bear witness to this. However, most of the ash flanks are now covered in lush green grass. Only the tyres feel the volcanic past, as they grip into a very grippy mixture of ash crumbs on the trails and paths.
You could cruise from cone to cone over a distance of 60 kilometres. In between, tufa rocks and crater lakes provide variety, thermal baths await in the mountain villages and, of course, the delicious Auvergne cuisine. Highlight of the region: the tour to the Puy de Dôme (1465 m) with super views and a dense network of trails.
Tour info Massif Central
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
