Touring holidays, here and there
"Tell me, what does ‘touring' mean?"
Whether you travel on foot, by bike or mountain bike, by car, on a motorcycle or on horseback, it means taking advantage of your leisure time and/or holidays to set off and explore a country or a region, displaying curiosity and a respectful interest in the landscapes, nature, and people you meet along the way. It means moving around, rather than always staying in the same place. It means travelling from one village to the next, from one massif to the next, from one valley to the next, following one or more well-designed trails; and at night it means enjoying a stopover in comfortable accommodation - lodge, hotel, campsite, bed and breakfast - provided by welcoming hosts.
That, quite simply, is what the GTA and its partners offer to a wide range of people, through its great Alpine trails.
The Route des Grandes Alpes - the Chemins du Soleil - the Routes de la Lavande - the Via Alpina.
There are great touring "classics" all over the world: the Via Alpina, the Silk Routes, Compostella, Route 66. Touring also has its points of reference: Nicolas Bouvier, Jack London, Alexandra David Neel ...
Today, touring is immediately topical in many ways. Between imagination and consumption, era and product, rebellion and marketing, it also lends itself to ongoing analysis and decipherment.
Learn about it in detail, with us. Whether we are hardened travellers or mere novices, we always begin by travelling in our heads.
Here are some trails from here and elsewhere.