Hiking to Lac Blanc on the Tour du Mont Blanc

This is the view from Lac Blanc to the Aiguille Verte. You can also see the Grande Jorrasses on the right, one of the three great north faces of the Alps.

One of the grand highlights of the Tour du Mont Blanc, and an absolute must-do, is the hike to Lac Blanc, an alpine tarn dramatically situated in the Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges. Lac Blanc consists of two lakes, a larger upper lake (Lac Blanc proper) and a smaller lower lake. The two are joined by a small stream. As you can see from the photo, the scenery is outstanding!

The mountain standing dead center in the photo is called the Aiguille Verte (13,524 feet/4,122 meters). The word aiguille means “needle” in French and you’ll find lots of mountains and rock spires on the Tour du Mont Blanc bearing the “aiguille” designation. The Massif des Aiguille Rouges, of which Lac Blanc is a part, consists of an entire ridge of red needles that runs for miles in a northeasterly/southwesterly direction on the north side of the Chamonix Valley. The Aiguille du Belvédère, Aiguille Crochues, Aiguille de la Floria, and the Aiguille des Chamois are just a few of the notable peaks. Lac Blanc even has its own aiguille, appropriately named the Aiguille du Lac Blanc. 

While the Aiguilles Rouges are interesting to look at, and the nature reserve in particular is a very special haven for alpine wildlife, it’s the view of the Mont Blanc Massif on the opposite side of the Chamonix Valley that most hikers climb to Lac Blanc to see. The Aiguille Verte (pictured) is a full 1,766 meters (5,800 feet) higher than Lac Blanc itself. It’s these dramatic elevation changes that make the Mont Blanc region so striking. For example, more than 12,000 feet of elevation separates the cafés in downtown Chamonix with the summit of Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc is just off the right side of the photo.

There’s a little hut perched at Lac Blanc called Le Refuge du Lac Blanc. The Lac Blanc Refuge offers dormitory style accommodation with half board (dinner and breakfast). The restaurant at the refuge serves delicious local specialties including, crèpes, savoyard omelettes, salads, guide’s plates, and my favorite, tarte aux myrtilles (blueberry pie). If you time your Tour du Mont Blanc just right, then you’ll see locals picking wild blueberries on the trail. The locals use the same ancient hand tools that they’ve used for centuries, and the blueberries are delicious! The refuge also operates a buvette serving hot and cold drinks, soups, sandwiches, and take away items for passing hikers and day trippers. Cash only. 

Most people hike the Tour du Mont Blanc in a counterclockwise direction beginning and ending in Chamonix. When completed in this direction, Lac Blanc usually falls on the last day of the tour. Most fit hikers will complete the walk from Argentière to the La Flégère lift via Lac Blanc in around four hours. The walk from Argentière to the Plan Praz cable car station via Lac Blanc takes around six hours. Walking into Chamonix centre ville takes about the same time, unless you stop and linger at the Chalet Floria along the way which is highly recommended. You can also hike the Tour du Mont Blanc in the opposite direction which has advantages. 

Do you have questions about the Tour du Mont Blanc? Would you like to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc? We’ll make a trip just for you. Click here to get started.

Beautiful Hikes in Corsica

Around 20 years ago I received my first task as a hiking guide in France. My assignment was to develop a week-long inn-to-inn hiking tour across the island of Corsica. There were three requirements for the trip.

1. The hiking had to be amazing.

2. The food had to be delicious.

3. The accommodations had to be authentic, memorable, and charming.

So off I went! And this is the type of scenery that I found a long the way. Corsica is beautiful! It’s no wonder the French call it l’Ile de Beauté (the island of beauty).

People often ask about my favorite Corsican foods. I have two favorite dishes. One is velouté de châtaignes (creamy chestnut soup). Chestnuts have existed on the Corsican isle for thousands of years, and they are delicious! One of the best chestnut soups that I’ve ever tasted came from the kitchen of the 5 Star Relais & Châteaux La Signoria in Calvi. That soup almost brought me to tears. My other favorite Corsican dish is le sanglier (wild boar). On a cozy fall afternoon, sanglier stew is one of the most satisfying dishes a hiker can eat, unless of course you’re vegetarian. In either case, you won’t go wrong if you start your evening with a glass of Mattei Cap Corse, a very drinkable aperitif.  

Eating & Hiking Our Way Across the French Basque Country

The vineyard covered slopes of Irouléguy.

We’ve cooked up a really wonderful inn-to-inn hiking tour in the Pays Basque (the French Basque country). Let’s lift the lid a little and see what’s inside.  

The Basque hills are a landscape painter’s dream. Windswept peaks and ridgelines melt into vineyard and pasture covered hills which in turn relax, stretch out, and spill their beechwood forests and trout-filled streams into the sea. Along the Bay of Biscay, village fisherman still fill their tiny boats with tuna, cod, anchovies and sardines, while waves crash against rocky cliffs and then are gently calmed by sandy, crescent-shaped beaches. Along the shoreline, cheerful little ice cream carts selling “glaces et sorbets artisinales” await. In the mountains, the calming bleat of a sheep betrays the village sheepherder who, often wearing a traditional beret, contently manages the flock. Meanwhile, pottok (wild Basque ponies) graze nearby. Through all of it, the most perfectly sketchable villages lurk over every hill top. 

The region between the town of Pau and the Atlantic Ocean is often considered the most picturesque region of the Pays Basque, beguiling travelers with tranquil villages that time has seemingly forgotten. The centerpiece of these villages, and of Basque culture in general, is the farm house, with its broad terracotta tiled roofs, neatly whitewashed stone facades, and exposed timber frames. The wooden timbers and shutters on these homes are always painted a deep, seductive red. In the fall, ristras of red pepper hang-dry from the woodwork of these cute country homes. The peppers are a spicy decoration produced in one of southern France’s prettiest towns, the village of Espelette. 

The celebrated piments d’Espelette.

Pepper from the village of Espelette, known locally as piment d’Espelette, is more than just a decoration in the Pays Basque. Fine cookery is a source of local pride in the Basque hill country, and the Basque people are masters of infusing the piment d’Espelette into the most delicious and mouthwatering cuisine. The pepper infused dark chocolate is worthy of investigation! Indeed, the Basques seem to be born with an innate sense of good cooking, probably due in large part to the location of the Pays Basque between the mountains and the sea. Situated “au bord de la mer,” as the French like to say, the Pays Basque benefits from an abundance of treasures from the sea and mountain farms alike.

Taste, for example, the ttoro (pronounced tioro), a traditional fisherman’s stew. A specialty of the Basque coast, ttoro was originally prepared by fisherman in the middle of the sea, on their fishing boats, with fish that had been discarded from the net. Ttoro features a blend of fish including, but not limited to, monkfish, prawns, eel and mussels. More of a stew than a soup, ttoro is lovingly prepared by the fisherman’s wives who blend the stew with tomato sauce, garlic, and the famous Espelette pepper.

How about sampling the Salamis de Palombe? This dish consists of local wild dove simmered with red wine, diced ham from the nearby town of Bayonne, shallots and a bouquet garni assembled from the most flavorful local herbs. Are you a vegetarian? No problem. A good meal depends on good quality ingredients, and the fertile landscape of the Pays Basque produces the best quality vegetables and fruits in southwest France. 

La Pipérade, a traditional Basque dish thoughtfully prepared with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and piment d’Espelette.

Each village in the Pays Basque takes pride in a particular gastronomic treasure. Just outside of Pau, the region of Jurançon produces wines that have been celebrated since the middle ages. Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are the principal grape varieties of Jurançon used in both sweet wines (Jurançon) and dry white wines (Jurançon sec). Deeper in the Basque hills, in a vineyard-terraced countryside that spills over into Spain, the commune of Irouléguy produces the preferred red and white wines of the region. Cabernet Franc and Tannat varieties are the principal grapes for the Irouléguy reds, while Courbu, Petit Courbu, Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are the principal Irouléguy whites. 

In the valley of Itxassou, cerises noires (black cherries), provide the sweet foundation of a most delicious confiture which is often used as a filling in the gâteau Basque. The gâteau Basque is a delectable double crust pie, sometimes filled with home-made pastry cream, that goes down far too easily following a traditional Basque meal.

The traditional gâteau Basque.

You would not be alone if you were tempted to drive from village-to-village and eat your way across the Pays Basque, sampling pintxos (Basque tapas) as you go. But that would be a shame because the Basque hill country offers some very delightful hiking and walking trails that are worthy of exploration. Take, for example, the hike across the exposed Crêtes d’Iparla between the villages of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry and Bidarray. On a clear day, you can drink in the views of the Hautes-Pyrénées to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and a patchwork quilt of idyllic villages and farms in between. You’ll follow the French border all the while, frequently dipping your toes into Spain as you hike. 

While the Basque hill country may not be as high as the mountains of the French Alps, some of the trails can be quite steep, leaving even the most ardent hikers pleasantly satisfied. Of course, you’d be foolish not to visit a fromagerie during your hike. Aromatic wheels of fromage de brebis (sheep’s milk cheese) are produced in the beech forests of Iraty and the Ossau valley using a technique that dates back thousands of years. There was a time, centuries ago, when Ossau-Iraty sheep cheese was so valued that it was used as a form of local currency. And just down the road, in the village of Ascain, Monsieur Lagadec has revived an ancient Basque apple wine called Sagarno at the Txopinondo Cidrerie Basque. As with the cheese, you’d be “complètment fou” if you didn’t stop in and “prendre un verre.” Lucky for you, we include these tasting stops in our hike.

Would you like to know more about hiking (and eating) in the Pays Basque? Check out our French Basque Country hiking tour. And of course, give us a call or drop us a note if you have questions. We absolutely love sharing the wonder of this treasured land in southwestern France. 

Hiking in France: The Vignemale Mountain in the French Pyrénées

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a really nice holiday break. It’s the heart of winter now, but the days are getting longer, and here at the office of The Cat & The Peacock we’re already busy organizing inn-to-inn hiking tours in Europe for the summer. With that in mind, here’s a shot of one my favorite mountains in the French Pyrenees. This mountain is called the Vignemale, and it straddles the border of France and Spain. As you can see, the north face of the Vignemale is quite spectacular when covered with new-fallen snow. There’s also a small mountain hut at the base of the mountain that serves delicious mountain fare. Interestingly, the first “officially documented” climb of this peak was accomplished by an English woman named Anne Lister and her local guides in 1838. The event was quite a landmark in the history of mountaineering.

Hikers enjoy HUGE views on the Haute Route and Tour du Mont Blanc

Here’s another shot of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe at 15,781 feet (4,810 meters). You've heard of “Fourteeners” in Colorado (mountains taller than 14,000 feet)? Well this is a Fifteener! If you look closely, you can see a couple of hikers on the trail below. We took this photo while hiking on the north side of the Chamonix Valley in France. This particular hiking trail is a famous leg of the Hiker’s Haute Route and the Tour du Mont Blanc.