France has a coastline spanning almost 6,000 kilometres, 80 navigable rivers and streams, and close to 400 lakes. We’re not exaggerating when we say the best views in l’Hexagone are from the water.
Ditch the car, France may attract more foreign tourists than any other country in the world, but there’s one way to guarantee getting away from the crowds. On your paddleboard. And while you can’t paddle up to the Eiffel Tower (sorry folks, it’s forbidden in central Paris), many of the finest sites in the country are accessible via a stretch of water. We guarantee that these five places won’t leave you with Paris Syndrome.
The chalky cliffs of Étretat are an artist’s dream, inspiring legions of photographers and painters to immortalise them. Monet painted the natural sea arches at Étretat over 50 times, and do you know how he got the perfect view? He grabbed his palette and easel, and rowed to secluded beaches.
The rock formations here are otherworldly, but what can rapidly bring you down to earth is the tidal wave of tourists that descend upon the town each day during the summer season (thank you, Netflix and Lupin). By exploring this stretch of coast by paddleboard, however, you’ll be able to pass right under the Manneporte and the Aval Door listening to the soft lap of waves rather than a noisy contingency of Londoners.
One of the most famous sites in the country, the walled abbey and commune of Mont-St-Michel has stood on its tidal throne since the 8th century. These days, it’s home to a community of 40-odd monks and nuns.
It’s just one kilometre from the mainland, joined by a tidal causeway which is submerged at high tide, and attracts around 2.5 million visitors each year. As they wolf down their crepes to race back across the walkway before it’s covered by the sea, you’ll be smugly enjoying an ice cream before paddling serenely back to base.
If island hopping is cool, ‘calanque’ hopping blows it out of the (crystalline) water. There are 26 of these rocky inlets over the 21 kilometre stretch between Marseille and Cassis, and many are only accessible via knee-shatteringly steep trails, or from the water.
Formed 120 million years ago from white limestone, precipitous cliffs plunge into impossibly clear waters. It’s difficult to pick a favourite, but if we had to, Calanque d’En-vau wins for seclusion and dramatic cliff faces. Pack a large bottle of water, it’s so scarce here that the few restaurants in the Calanques only serve bottled water, which regularly works out more expensive than wine. This is quite simply the stuff that paddling dreams are made of.
Glitzy, glamorous Saint-Tropez is the playground of the rich and famous. You’ll need a deep wallet to enjoy a boat trip here, and chartering even a small vessel costs hundreds of euros for a day.
Luckily, you’ll have money to spare for a chilled glass of rosé at the end of the day by cruising around Saint-Tropez bay on your paddleboard. If you’re feeling energetic, paddle your way along to Pampelonne Beach, a vast stretch of golden sand which has been revered ever since Brigitte Bardot filmed And God Created Woman here in the 1950s.
Of the numerous French towns with chocolate box Christmas markets, Colmar is widely reputed to have the finest. Six Christmas markets burst with light among the half-timber houses, and stock artisan crafts and local wine and beer. It’s so Christmassy that Will Ferrell in Elf would look lacking in festive cheer in comparison.
The abundance of canals here have led to Colmar being known as France’s Little Venice. While we recommend that you wrap up warm (snow isn’t uncommon in December), doing your Christmas shopping by paddleboard is guaranteed to keep even the most fervent anti-shopper happy.
The pretty town of Colmar – photo courtesy of https://theunknownenthusiast.com/
So there we have it. The five most iconic places to paddle in France. Who would disagree that these are all better seen from the water? What do you think? What’s your favourite place to paddle in France?
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