Amazing landscapes, majestic mountains, wild coasts... Here are the 5 most photographed GR on Instagram. Just to make you want to put on your shoes.
In France, there are 369 long-distance footpaths (GR) which represent a total of more than 70,000 km of paths. These are marked with the famous white and red markings that can be seen regularly on the paths even when you are not trying to walk on a GR. The first GR in history (the GR 3) was inaugurated in 1947 in Orleans. The number 3 was chosen by the French Hiking Federation to leave the numbers 1 and 2 for future trails closer to the capital.
Since 1957, the GR trails have been marked on IGN maps and walkers from all over the world who come to put their shoes on these trails take advantage of the work of 7,000 voluntary markers who maintain these trails. Today, some of the French GR trails have an international reputation, such as the GR 20, which is listed below in our ranking of the most Instagrammable GR trails in France.
GR20 : A GR of great beauty
With 85,000 posts on Instagram mentioning it, this trail that crosses Corsica from south to north (or the other way around) is a piece of bravery for those who do it in its entirety. On the program, 180 km and endless mountains on the island of beauty. The GR 20 offers superb panoramas between land and sea, but it must be deserved and few are those who do it in one go. The idea is obviously to come back to the island to walk some parts of this GR, considered as the most demanding in France and one of the most difficult in the world. On a single stage, it is not uncommon to climb to more than 2,000 metres in altitude and to accumulate more than 1,500 metres of difference in altitude in one day. High altitude lakes, pine and beech forests, waterfalls, mountain pastures, ridges... So many opportunities to stop along the way to contemplate nature and its wonders.
- Starting point : Calenzana (or Conca)
- Arrival point : Conca
- Distance : 180 km
- Elevation gain: 10,000 meters approximately
- Maximum altitude: 2 607 m (Pointe des Éboulis)
- Number of days to cover it all: about 16 days in the north-south direction
- Record: 31h06 (François D'Haene in 2016)
GR 34 : Brittany at the heart
It is a real sea snake that draws the GR 34 along the Breton coasts. Called the "Sentier des douaniers", the GR 34 stretches over more than 2,000 kilometres from Ille-et-Vilaine to Morbihan. It is one of the few paths of such length that never leaves the coast. Mont-Saint-Michel welcomes you at the start if you take it in the north-south direction. The Emerald Coast precedes the passage through the Goëlo Coast and the Pink Granite Coast. The Chemin des Phares (Lighthouse Trail) then takes you to Brest and Ouessant. Then comes the Crozon peninsula, the Cap de la Chèvre, the heaths and moors of Finistère and the whole Bigouden country. Quiberon, the Gulf of Morbihan, Guérande then Saint-Nazaire to complete this symphony of names that are already enough to make you dream.
- Starting point : Mont-Saint-Michel
- Arrival point : Saint-Nazaire
- Distance: 2,000 km
- Elevation gain : About 20 000 m
- Maximum altitude : 128 meters
- Number of days to cover it all: 70 days approximately
- Record: No real reference time, but Didier Nicolas covered it in 44 days in 2018
GR 5 : From North to South over five countries
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France. The entire GR 5 programme is rather heavy in terms of kilometres (2,600 km of paths) and changing scenery. Because it is especially in the Alps that you will find the GR 5's piece of choice with the GTA (Grande Traversée des Alpes), 620 km long and obviously gargantuan in difference in altitude with 30,000 meters in all. In other words, each stage is reserved for well-trained walkers or runners. Between Lake Geneva and the Mediterranean, the GTA is one of the oldest trails in France with over 70 years of existence.
- Starting point : Hasselt (Belgium)
- Arrival point : Nice
- Distance: 2,600 km
- Elevation gain: About 30,000 m for the GTA
- Maximum altitude: 2 764 m (Col de L'Iseran)
- Number of days to cover it all: 35 to 40 days for the GTA, add the same time for the rest.
- Record: The GTA was completed in 6 days and 16 hours by Romain Sophys in 2019
GR 10: Between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic
Crossing the Pyrenees over their entire length: this is the programme of the GR 10 if you have the ambition and motivation to tackle it. It took 15 years to mark out the entire length of this 1,100 km trail between 1964 and 1979. From the Côte Vermeille, you head towards the Hautes-Pyrénées and its passes at an altitude of over 2,000 metres. Obviously, there too, the panoramas are numerous on the massifs (the 33,000 publications on Instagram are there to attest to this). And if you feel like making a small detour to the Canigou peak at 2,784 meters above sea level (which is not on the trail but close to the course), you can then observe France to the north, Spain to the south, the Pyrenees to the west and the Mediterranean to the east.
- Starting point : Banyuls
- Arrival point : Hendaye
- Distance: 1,100 km
- Elevation gain: 50,000 meters
- Maximum altitude: 2,743 meters (Hourquette d'Ossoue pass)
- Number of days to cover it all: 50 to 70 days approximately
- Record: 9 days and 9 hours by Frenchman Erik Clavery
GR 65: On the roads to Santiago de Compostela
This GR stretches for more than 1,100 kilometres and is probably the one on this list with the best profile for suitable for families. On the way, you are guaranteed to follow beautiful, well-maintained paths, as the route takes you through four main routes to Santiago de Compostela. They are all listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites. Between two forests and hedgerows, you will pass by monuments of faith before continuing on the vineyards and hills that line this GR, which is obviously very popular with pilgrims in summer. The passage through the Massif Central is a must with its great basaltic organs and volcanic peaks. You then go on to the Velay, the Margeride and the Aubrac before tackling the unevenness of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
- Starting point : Geneva (Switzerland)
- Arrival point: Roncesvalles (Spain)
- Distance: 1,100 km
- Elevation gain: 23,000 m
- Maximum altitude: 1,433 meters
- Number of days to cover it all: 50 to 60 days
- Record: No official record, but a hiker has covered the distance between Le Puy-en-Velay and Santiago de Compostela in 32 days without assistance.