Not only does France have a lot of great trails, they've also made it really easy to find them. And as if that wasn't enough, once you're on them you'll find that even hikers are nice to you.

Finding Trails

Task number one when you go anywhere new in France is to call in to town and find the tourist information office. The best reason for doing this is to find maps and guide books. It depends where you are and what type of stuff the office stocks, but you can find anything from free leaflets to £10 guide books. But don't think the free leaflets are useless - here's a scan of the free guide from the Lanslebourg (Val Cenis) office.

In all, it has 21 graded routes with descriptions and IGN (Institut Géographique National) maps, plus useful info such as when the cable cars run, and where you can and can't ride. Not bad for free.

FFC Trails

Most of the trails you'll find in the guide books are marked (balisé) by the FFC (Fédération Française de Cyclisme). The markings appear as shown, and are generally attached to trees or rocks near junctions in the path. They are coloured and numbered according to the route they mark, so be sure to follow identical markers. The arrow always points in the direction you need to go - although as with all French signposting, some of their directions can seem idiosyncratic if you're not used to it. A crossed out marker means you've taken a wrong turning, but don't assume there are crossed out markers on all the possible trails!

FFRP Paths

There are a number of national and regional long-distance walking paths which are marked by the FFRP (Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre) and which (so it seems at least) can be used for mountain biking. Certainly I've never been advised not to use them - but being walking paths, often through the mountains, they get pretty technical, so some people just comment that you're mad.

The markings for the FFRP paths appear as follows, generally painted onto rocks or trees along the route.

The GR (Grande Randonnée) paths are the national long-distance paths, the GR de Pays are the regional ones, and the PR (Promenade Randonnée) are regional and shorter (walkable in an afternoon or a day).

Now Go and Have Fun

The French love cyclists. If you're on a nice bike, people will ask you about it. If you're climbing a big hill, they'll shout "bon courage!" to egg you on. If you're hammering downhill, "allez! allez!" means go for it. Just give everyone a polite "bonjour" when you see them and you'll all get along just fine.