Adventure Travel in France: Bordeaux Bike Tours, Provence Walking & Hiking Tours, and More!

Discover the best France has to offer on an active vacation with Backroads!

France is a feast for the palate, the eyes, and the heart. And as someone who seeks adventure, you need to come to the table.

France’s vineyards are legendary. From Burgundy to Bordeaux, several of the country’s place names are synonymous with wines. Embark on a biking tour of France in the Burgundy region, and you’ll pedal toward the multicolored, Flemish-tiled roofs in Beaune before reaching a sea of grapevines that rises and falls gracefully against the blue-tinged Vosges Mountains. Then end your day by sipping vibrant vintages.

As tasteful as France’s wines is the nation’s scenery. From the sand dunes and sheer cliffs in the north to the bright-blue sea of the French Riviera to the olive groves in the south that inspired Vincent van Gogh, the landscape calls for outdoor activities and sensory experiences. Don crampons and heft axes for a glacier hike below the saw-edged mountain peaks in Chamonix, the birthplace of European alpinism. Make a pilgrimage to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, perched on a pinnacle of rock. Take a bike ride in the Dordogne River Valley through timeless villages, or explore on foot the storybook castles and the fertile Loire Valley of Joan of Arc. Journey to the Grotte de Font de Gaume, where cave painting Cro-Magnons practiced their art.

If it’s heart-pumping adventure you’re after, head into the Alps for an epic day of biking in France. Tackle the thrilling roller coaster of hairpin turns of Alpe d’Huez, Tour de France’s oldest mountaintop finish.

For palpitations of a different sort, walk the grounds of World War II battle sites and memorials, such as the American Military Cemetery in Normandy. With a view on Omaha Beach and the English Channel from which the American soldiers came, the 9,387 bright-white crosses and stars stand not only as a remembrance but as a message of hope.

Indulge yourself with a trip to France. It is a banquet for the soul as well as your physical parts.

Scroll down to browse our France tours, including Bordeaux bike tours, Provence walking & hiking tours, and more!