Grande Randonnée
The Grande Randonnée (French), Grote Routepaden or Lange-afstands-wandelpaden (Dutch), Gran Recorrido (Spanish) or Gran Recorregut (Catalan) is a network of long-distance footpaths in Europe, mostly in France, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
- "GR" redirects here; see Greece for the country which holds same the ISO 3166-2 code.
Prepare
Gear
As with all trekking: pack light!
- Lightweight walking shoes
- Wide brimmed hat and sunscreen
- Light weight waterproofs
- Depending on where and when you hike, you may need an axe and crampons to deal with ice.
Water
Alpine and some other mountainous segments of hiking routes often have plenty of fresh, clear, safe mountain water available. But unless you know you are taking a path with plentiful good water available, make sure to carry all the water you need for the whole day.
Camping and refuges
Availability of camping and other accommodation varies widely. To take one example, on the GR 5, there are numerous refuges and gîtes along the Alpine section of the route that offer comfortable accommodation; however, when it comes to camping, there are areas where it is forbidden and other spots where it is permitted but only after a certain time in the early evening. Carrying cash is advisable since most of the more remote accommodation will not take cards.
Trails
- GR 1
- GR 2: Rouen – Paris – Dijon
- GR 3
- GR 3: La Baule – Saumur – Orléans – Nevers – Mont Mézenc
- GR 4
- GR 4: Royen – Limoges – Clermont-Ferrand – Saint-Flour – Pont-Saint-Esprit – Grasse
- GR 5: Starts in the Netherlands and crosses Belgium and Luxembourg before traversing France to end in Nice. However, a recognised variant is typically considered a preferable finish along the GR 52 to Menton since it stays in the high mountains rather than dropping into farmland and suburbia for the final few days. Originally, the section through the French Alps from north to south was known as the Grande Traverse des Alpes and runs from Lake Geneva to Nice. That section eventually became the original GR 5 before later being extended northwards.
- GR 6
- GR 7: Ballon d'Alsace – Dijon – Saint-Étienne – Andorra La Vella
- GR 7: Algeciras – Andorra
- GR 9
- GR 10
- GR 11 Trans-Pyrenees goes from Higuer Cape - Hondarribia to Cap de Creus Natural Park
- GR 12
- GR 14
- GR 15
- GR 20: Calenzana – Conca (Corsica)
- GR 21: Dieppe – Saint-Valéry-en-Caux – Fécamp – Étretat – Le Havre
- GR 26
- GR 34
- GR 34A
- GR 35
- GR 36
- GR 37
- GR 38
- GR 39
- GR 41
- GR 43
- GR 44
- GR 46
- GR 57: Liège (Belgium) – Diekirch (Luxembourg)
- GR 60
- GR 65: Geneva (Switzerland) – La Côte-Saint-André (Isère) – Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) – Nasbinals (Lozère) – Conques (Aveyron) – Figeac (Lot) – Moissac (Tarn-et-Garonne) – Aire-sur-l'Adour (Landes) – Roncesvalles (Spain); the Le Puy route of the Way of St. James
- GR 68
- GR 70: The Stevenson Trail (Chemin de Stevenson), Le Puy – Alès
- GR 71
- GR 72
- GR 92: Portbou (Catalonia) – Ulldecona (Catalonia)
- GR 99 Camino del Ebro: along the river Ebro in Catalonia, mostly coinciding with the Ebro Way of St. James
- GR 121
- GR 123
- GR 211
- GR 212
- GR 223: Honfleur — D-Day Beaches — Cherbourg — Mont Saint-Michel
- GR 341
- GR 380
- GR 652
- GR 700
Trails in Réunion
- See Hiking in Réunion#Trails for the three GR trails in the French overseas department. Trails are typically marked with an extra "R" to distinguish the trails from the trails in Europe.
Stay safe
Walk early, to avoid storms later in the day.