France on Foot: Village to Village, Hotel to Hotel: How to Walk the French Trail System on Your Own [Paperback]

Bruce Lefavour (Author), Faith Echtermeyer (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

It is possible to walk from any village in France to another without ever boarding a car, train, or bus. This is a guide to the more than 110,000 miles of well-marked and maintained off-road footpaths and to the gracious accommodations, wonderful restaurants, and sights along the way. Vineyards, caves, chateaux, and other beauties of the countryside are highlighted in colour photos. The book provides explanations of trail markers, equipment advice, packing tips, and a pocket-sized English-French walker's vocabulary.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

LeFavour, a professional chef, has produced a handsome and terrifically useful guide for anyone considering seeing France on foot. France has 110,000 miles of well-maintained walking paths that cross both public and private lands and a detailed system of walking maps for navigating them. This is not an easy guide to tuck into your backpack, but it provides loads of information: the best maps for walkers, different kinds of accommodations, and necessary equipment. LeFavour has obviously walked many leisurely miles in France, soaking up the scenery and ending each day in a comfortable bed (from cottage to chateau) after a delicious meal. He intersperses his own entertaining walking experiences with planning advice. The photographs are beautiful. Essential for travel collections.?Linda M. Kaufmann, Massachusetts Coll. of Liberal Arts Lib., North Adams
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Any book that earns cover blurbs from gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman and Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters must have something going for it. This large-format volume offers color photos, good maps, excellent directions and fine writing on France's 110,000 miles of off-road footpaths.

"The author is a chef by tradeand his rhapsodic rifts on the joys of good wine and food could inspire the most bloated of couch potatoes to get trekking." -- Bob Sipchen, "Books to Go," - LosAngeles Times, 24 January 1999

"French joie de vivre on foot. This is no backpackers guide. it's walking France on a full stomach." -- Lane Hartill, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 January 1999

"LeFavour creates a French delicacy that mixes practical hiking information about packs and boots, folds in helpful knowledge of maps, hotels and restaurants, then sprinkles on clever anecdotes of people and places in the spectacularly different regions of France." -- Jeffrey Moore, Foreword, December 1998

"My dream has finally come true--I have a month to spend this summer wandering through the French countryside. How do I start planning a walkingtrip?

"Next month, look for France on Foot- Attis Press, $24.95 by Bruce LeFavour." -- Travel & Leisure, December 1998

...the rhapsodic rifts on good wine and food could inspire the most bloated couch potatoes to get trekking. -- Los Angeles Times

I would happily be led, even on foot, by this book to delicious experiences in the French countryside. -- Alice Waters, chef, restaurateur and author of Chez Panisse Vegetables

The photographs are beautiful. Essential for travel collections. -- Library Journal

With practical tips, inspired descriptions, and alluring photographs, this will put spring in your step and France on your agenda. -- The Harvard Post

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Attis Press (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966344804
• ISBN-13: 978-0966344806
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read AND an essential guide to planning a walk, October 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: France on Foot: Village to Village, Hotel to Hotel: How to Walk the French Trail System on Your Own (Paperback)

This book made it possible for me and my husband to walk inFrance on our own -- meaning not only did we avoid organized groups,we could walk wherever we wanted, on any of the thousands of trailsthat wind through France, at our own pace. Because LeFavour doesn'tattempt to give set walks for all his readers, but rather gives youthe information to set up your own walks, you're guaranteed not to beon over-run routes or to find yourself rushing to keep onschedule. Not only was the book a pleasure to read, and look at, itprepared us for all eventualities on the trail so we could enjoy thereal luxuries of the food, the wine and countryside. The best partabout walking in France is that you can really indulge -- you walk itoff and begin hungry and eager to go again each morning. A greatexperience.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only useful, but a pleasure to read, November 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: France on Foot: Village to Village, Hotel to Hotel: How to Walk the French Trail System on Your Own (Paperback)

(Update: what a shame it is out of print!)

I think the other reviewers have already covered most of the points. This book is written by a chef, and it is composed like a fine meal. The pace is wonderful: relaxing, but never boring-- the same way he advocates undertaking a long walk in France. Although a backpacker (I am one) would find this book useful, it is not intended for anyone who has ever spent a night without a roof, nor for anyone who intends to ever spend a night without a roof. What it will do is lead you to an experience that will leave you with a sense of accomplishment after enjoying a couple of weeks of beautiful scenery and fabulous food in the most relaxing and healthy manner possible. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best books I've ever read.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Advice, July 21, 2001

By 

Silence Dogood (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: France on Foot: Village to Village, Hotel to Hotel: How to Walk the French Trail System on Your Own (Paperback)

The other reviews have adequately described this wonderful book, so I will just tell you one or two things about putting it into practice. 1) Get in shape before you go. Prior to leaving, we did a lot of fast walking on flat ground without packs - this was NOT sufficient. Those packs get very heavy going up even a gentle hill. 2) Pack as light as you possibly can, then get rid of half of it. We ended up mailing home or throwing away city shoes, extra pants, makeup, etc.etc. Also, buy a smaller pack than you think you need. 3) Set realistic daily distance goals - the author is a bit too optimistic in our opinion. 4). Always carry water and at least a little food, like granola bars. Some places that look on the map like little towns perfect for lunch are just a group of houses and farm buildings. 5) Try to check "closed" days ahead of time. In France, it is generally not Saturday or Sunday, but some weekday. We walked into a tiny town dead-beat at the end of our first day (a Tuesday) to find it was closing day - not one restaurant, bistro, cafe, ANYTHING open, including the hotel's restaurant. However, all that being said, our walk through the Dordogne was THE single best vacation we've ever had (with the possible exception of Cuba). I love to browse through this book dreaming about our next one, maybe through Provence.