If you are an avid rock climbing enthusiast, you should surely think to plan a trip to France. The south of France is mainly known for its numerous climbing routes and some say it has the best sport climbing in the world. Usually, newly discovered sport climbing areas take the limelight but none of those can ever be compared to the quality of routes on the limestone crags of southern France. Even if you’re just now venturing out into the world of rock climbing, these are places that I am sure you would have heard of: Ceuse, Buoux and Fontainebleau. Most travel websites when writing about any newly discovered climbing areas always compare them to one of these spots in south of France.
Ceuse is located in the north of Sisteron and in the south of Gap in the Haute Provence. It has the perfect limestone rock, great lines and most of all is situated in the most stunning location. The types of routes vary from overhanging outcrop to precarious technical walls. They have a reputation for requiring lots of stamina and do not climb this if it is your first time or you are not that experienced. But an advantage to climbing the Ceuse is that it is at an altitude of over 1,600m. It offers gorgeous views and the best time to visit is from late spring to autumn.
Buoux is the other classic. It is known to be the most beautiful climbing area in France. It is known worldwide and its cliffs are famous for hard sport climbing. Most of the routes include overhangs and vertical walls. There are more than a 1,000 routes to choose from here. The degree of difficulty ranges from intermediate to advanced. One thing to keep in mind while planning a trip here is that the summers get extremely hot so it might not be the most pleasant experience during that time.
The forests of Fontainebleau offer the best bouldering area in Europe. Unlike the others, it has sandstone rock. The unique routes that have been developed here are colour coded. This area is home to a number of classic sites.
The south of France has an abundance of sites which are popular for rock climbing, far too many to write about each and every one of them. These were some sites where your experience will be sensational and you surely wouldn’t regret planning a trip to one of these.
