My favourite hiking route: results

Following three weeks of voting on the French Hiking Federation’s website, MonGR.fr, the GR® 21 trail linking Tréport to Le Havre in Seine-Maritime was voted “France’s favourite hiking route” (GR® préféré des Français 2020).

MonGRprefere-laureat

 

From 31 October to 20 November, internet users came out in droves to elect their favourite hiking route (so-called “GR®”) for 2020. Eight routes were competing for this honorary title, each presented via eight video profiles on the MonGR.fr website.

  • Le GR® 21 trail and the wild landscapes of the Albâtre coast. With 31% of the 93,700 votes cast across all French departments, the GR® 21 was ultimately voted the most popular, giving nationwide coverage to this trail with its spectacular landscapes spanning cliffs, pebble beaches, port cities and grasslands. It takes over from the GR® R1 “Tour du Piton des Neiges” trail in La Réunion, which won in 2019. Martine Gérard, President of the FFRandonnée Seine-Maritime hiking association has declared herself “delighted” that the GR® 21 trail has been voted France’s favourite trail for 2020. “It boils down to the fact that all those who voted for the GR® 21 in the national competition were inspired by the location's poetry. This choice is clearly a source of great pride for FFRandonnée Seine-Maritime and above all for the volunteers who carry out the maintenance and signposting work for these 190 kilometres. For the competitor committees, it’s a chance to make the qualities and charms of their hiking route more visible. Well done everybody! It’s also an opportunity to thank Seine-Maritime Attractivité and all of our partners that have lent their efforts to this operation, and to highlight the involvement the Seine-Maritime Department in restoring the coastal path, the upcoming work on which is essential to maintaining the coastal hiking trail. Thank you.”
  • The GR® 21 Normandy Coast hiking trail: this 190 km trail from Tréport to Le Havre is a way for you to discover the Channel coastline with its high cliffs – by turns chalk-white and earth-coloured clay – and its enclosed green meadows that frequently drop away into steep valleys. These are the sights that accompany hikers all along the du GR® 21 trail as they breath the iodized air carried on the sea breeze.
  • 2019 rankings
    1. GR® 21, Normandy coastline in Seine-Maritime: more than 28,522 votes – 30.4 %
    2. GR® 65, Compostela pilgrimage via the Puy Route in Aveyron: around 15,955 votes - 17 %
    3. GR® 52, Great Crossing of the Mercantour National Park in Les Alpes-Maritimes: around 12,927 votes – 13.8 %
    4. GR® 738, High Crossing of the Belledonne range in Isère: 10,134 votes* - 10.8 %,
    5. The Pays Val de Creus GR® in Indre: 9,123 votes – 9.7 %,
    6. The Pays Tour du Morvan GR® in Nièvre: around 8,521 votes - 9.2 %,
    7. GR® 714 along the Meuse river in Meuse: around 4,496 votes – 4.8 %,
    8. The Pays Tours and Ronde du Canigó GR®: around 4,028 votes – 4.3 %.

* The number of votes for GR® 738 takes into account the bonus of 20 % additional votes thanks to the Special Mention by the celebrity jury at the launch of the competition.

See the full results of the competition on the MonGR.fr website, and come along for the new edition of My Favourite Hiking Trail (Mon GR® préféré) in 2020!