France Locations

This year I will be going to France solo for anywhere from 3 to 7 months and I am looking at best locations. Arrival would be probably between May and August. I want to climb about 3 days a week but I'm also looking for language immersion and a place with some community and activities available. Ideally I would find a house or apartment with french speakers in a medium size town with multiple outdoor options nearby.  Would prefer not to have a car, but negotiable. My french now is about A2+ and looking for sport from about 5.11-5.13a with max project up to 13c. 

Where would you recommend? 

Edit: You guys are awesome! A list of potential locations for the 7 month program (October 1st through end of April) is below. Please recommend from within the list, but locations outside the list are still considered for the 3 month option.

Just an FYI for your trip planning.  Non-EU citizens are only allowed to remain in the EU for a max. 90 days in a 6 month period

Cory B wrote:

Just an FYI for your trip planning.  Non-EU citizens are only allowed to remain in the EU for a max. 90 days in a 6 month period

You can obtain a long-stay visa for personal travel as long as you’re not working and you have a French address and contact (friend, family, host, etc). You can google it and find details about the process.

A medium size town with close enough climbing to not require a vehicle would be difficult. That said, I’d look into Gap, Grenoble, Avignon, Aix en Provance and perhaps Carpentras. There are tons of villages with walkable climbing, however. 

Frank Stein wrote:

A medium size town with close enough climbing to not require a vehicle would be difficult. That said, I’d look into Gap, Grenoble, Avignon, Aix en Provance and perhaps Carpentras. There are tons of villages with walkable climbing, however. 

It's not that I would walk to the crags, just that I would make some friends and not be the driver of the vehicle. A moped would work for me though, in a pinch. Having some good toprope soloing would be excellent as well for the first bit until I can make more connections 

Where's Walden wrote:

It's not that I would walk to the crags, just that I would make some friends and not be the driver of the vehicle. A moped would work for me though, in a pinch. Having some good toprope soloing would be excellent as well for the first bit until I can make more connections 

In that case, of the above midsize towns I listed I’d go for Gap, which is reasonably close to Ceuse and Orpierre, and Carpentras for Saint Leger/Ventoux crags, Venasque (not on MP, but really good crag) and Buoux. If you want something bigger, Avignon is pretty close to Carpentras. 

Frank Stein wrote:

A medium size town with close enough climbing to not require a vehicle would be difficult. That said, I’d look into Gap, Grenoble, Avignon, Aix en Provance and perhaps Carpentras. There are tons of villages with walkable climbing, however. 

What about Briancon? Is that enough of a town to meet what OP is looking for?

Seasonality is worth considering in choosing a location. Hard to tell if they'll be there in summer or winter, based on their May-October arrival range and 3-7 month stay duration. If they arrive in June and stay 3 months, that's a summer trip and it probably makes sense to focus on the more alpine areas. If they arrive in October and stay 6 months, that's a winter trip and they should look at the lower elevation areas.

JCM wrote:

What about Briancon? Is that enough of a town to meet what OP is looking for?

Seasonality is worth considering in choosing a location. Hard to tell if they'll be there in summer or winter, based on their May-October arrival range and 3-7 month stay duration. If they arrive in June and stay 3 months, that's a summer trip and it probably makes sense to focus on the more alpine areas. If they arrive in October and stay 6 months, that's a winter trip and they should look at the lower elevation areas.

Never been to Briancon, but it’s a pretty small town as I understand, no?

Michael Vaill wrote:

You can obtain a long-stay visa for personal travel as long as you’re not working and you have a French address and contact (friend, family, host, etc). You can google it and find details about the process.

Thanks Mike, this is Ethan. 

Orpierre? It was perfect without a car, but there is only a week or two of climbing there; plenty of hiking & some canyoneering. It's not too far from Ceuse.

Apt/Buoux?

Chamonix?

Would you consider the French speaking parts of Switzerland? E.g. Martigny?

One place to consider in the south of France is Sisteron. While a number of the places mentioned are villages or very small towns, but Sisteron is a small city. It has it's own crag in town--well, just across the river. It is close to Orpierre and within easy day trip distance of Ceuse and quite a few other crags, including several little known, but quite demanding ones such as Gache in the hills above town.

If you prefer a small town, a bit further north, but still in southern France ( Haute Provence, I believe), Buis des Baronnies is located in a very scenic valley almost surrounded by impressive crags, with many more with easy driving distance.

Alan Rubin wrote:

One place to consider in the south of France is Sisteron. While a number of the places mentioned are villages or very small towns, but Sisteron is a small city. It has it's own crag in town--well, just across the river. It is close to Orpierre and within easy day trip distance of Ceuse and quite a few other crags, including several little known, but quite demanding ones such as Gache in the hills above town.

If you prefer a small town, a bit further north, but still in southern France ( Haute Provence, I believe), Buis des Baronnies is located in a very scenic valley almost surrounded by impressive crags, with many more with easy driving distance.

I suppose that it would be important to know what OP considers a “mid-size” town. The reason why I didn’t mention Buis, Is because it has just over 2k people. I waffled even with Carpentras, because that has only 35k. Buis and Carpentras are pretty close to each other. Sisteron has less than 8K. If that is big enough, than towns like Apt also fit, and the options become literally limitless.

I honestly think that Gap (very pretty city), especially with Ceuse (best sport crag in the world) and OP’s grade range, is the top place to consider. 

dave custer wrote:

Orpierre? It was perfect without a car, but there is only a week or two of climbing there; plenty of hiking & some canyoneering. It's not too far from Ceuse.

Apt/Buoux?

Chamonix?

Would you consider the French speaking parts of Switzerland? E.g. Martigny?

I would, as long as it fits criteria and French is the dominant (close to exclusive) langauge.

I live in Grenoble -- cliffs are accessible without a car but the closest ones tend to be a bit polished (lots of exceptions though). There are lots of decent cliffs a bit farther away and there is a car share system that a lot of people use. Ceuse, St/ Leger and other excellent crags are doable as day trips. There is a large and motivated climbing population. June+July+August can be pretty hot in the valley but there are North facing cliffs with lots of routes in the grades you are looking for. Briancon has better climbing but I'm not sure about the community there. Happy to answer any specific questions about Grenoble.

I'm going to be in Lyon from mid-April through mid-June and looking to climb similar grades to you. Hit me up if you're looking for a partner!

Become a boulderer.  Move to Paris.  Take public transportation to Bois-le-roi.  Walk through the forest to one of the many mythic sectors of Font.  After shredding all day, drink wine while you wait for the train back to Paris.

You won’t regret it.

Christopher Clay wrote:

Become a boulderer.  Move to Paris.  Take public transportation to Bois-le-roi.  Walk through the forest to one of the many mythic sectors of Font.  After shredding all day, drink wine while you wait for the train back to Paris.

You won’t regret it.

I'm not really a boulderer but I did what you said for a day at the end of a sport climbing trip further south. Even alone, padless, and working on the easier circuits ( Rocher Canon), I very much did not regret it!!!! Magical place.  Had a perma-smile all day---at least once I actually found the boulders after trampling a long time alongside busy roads through a pretty featureless area of forest ( poor guidebook maps!!!---walking back the correct way was easy and quick).

I consider the Font (and The Valley) the two biggest holes in my climbing resume. We absolutely adore france, but there are so many places to go and experience and so little time to do so. 

Bump. I added a list of locations eligible for the 7 month option which I may or may not qualify for. Locations inside or outside the list are still considered, but only in the list for the 7 months.

Where's Walden wrote:

Bump. I added a list of locations eligible for the 7 month option which I may or may not qualify for. Locations inside or outside the list are still considered, but only in the list for the 7 moths.

Do you know which 7 months it would be? I.e. mostly during summer or mostly during winter?

JCM wrote:

Do you know which 7 months it would be? I.e. mostly during summer or mostly during winter?

Edited above, October 1st through all of April