Sports Activities for a Real Workout or for Leisure

Break your France Touring routine … spend some energy, give your heart and lungs a workout with a sporting activity.

France sports activity - biking hike

France sports activity – biking hike

Whether your a regular sports buff or an amateur looking for a little exercise and change of pace, there’s plenty to do around France.

Want some ideas? Bowling, petanque, paintball, swimming pools, luge d’ete (summer sledding), mini-golf, biking, mountain biking known as VTT in France for ‘velo tout terrain’.

If Climbing is your thing:

Are you a mountaineering enthusiast? Try climbing. In the Paris area all you have to do is head down to Fontainebleau where the geological site has given rise to surprisingly shaped rock formations inspiring the imagination of both amateur and accomplished climbers. In fact, climbers from around the world make the journey to this location. You can find rock climbing here as playful or as complex as you wish.

If you’re looking for something challenging but totally safe, how about via ferrata, climbing and dangling on ledges while firmly corded to the stone cliff walls. Then there are the scents of the forest with accrobranching all way to canyoning in the exhilarating gorges in Ardeche,

If Combat sports are your thing:

You need to get out on the mats and keep your reflexes up to par. There are workout spaces and workshops offering whatever discipline you practice: Self-defense, boxing, judo, karate or Taekwondo.

Lighter workouts:

There are plenty of ideas even for the more sedate: Your lodging could very well be equipped with one of the following opportunities. If not, just ask the conscierge or a local where you can find a centre for: Fitness (the French have adopted this anglicism… just put the accent on the last syllable and they’ll understand), bodybuilding, gym, remise en forme, gymnastics, weight loss.

Many parks are equipped with a parcours de sante … a walk or light jog with special apparatus to do short workouts of your hips, arms, abdominal muscles and other parts of your body.

Take to the water:

Here’s a post devoted to water activities, but many hotels and cities are equipped with spas, thermal centers, aqua-fitness, Thalasso, massages and eaux de source (mineral water … France is a forerunner in this area as you know). Sophrology is also widely practiced around the country.

Take to the Air or the Race track:

Paragliding (parapente in French), cliff and bungee jumping … if you like thrills. Then there are mechanical sports, go-carting, quads for randos, buggies, car racing, motorcycle rentals. And, if you’re in France during the winter, snowmobiles (motoneiges in French) for adults and kids and for the thrills and mastery, controlled car skidding on ice.

Let’s not forget the most practiced sporting activities like hiking to discover the Alpes-Maritimes, swimming and tennis. We’ve also devoted a post to golfing, with some wonderful golf courses around France. There’s also horseback riding at all levels, jumping and poneys.

Then, there are many city biking tours. Enjoy the best of Nice on a bike tour! Hear interesting facts and stories about the attractions from a local guide. Pedal through the city’s bustling streets all the way to its serene beaches.

BonjourLaFrance has just done a total overhaul to its website and some of the former activity information is no longer present. One of the simplest ways to find such activities is to do a Google search with ‘France and the activity’ you’re looking for. If you know the specific region or city then add that to the search.

Have fun with your sporting activities in France.

Skneller
Author: Skneller

I'm the creator of BonjourLaFrance which started off as a personal site in 1998 and has developed into the global site it is today.

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