A protected Alpine region shaped by high passes, remote valleys, and long-distance routes.
Queyras Regional Natural Park lies high in the southern French Alps, close to the Italian border. Designated as a Parc naturel régional, it is a protected mountain landscape where villages, agriculture, and historic routes continue to define how the land is used and experienced.
Queyras is characterised by distance and elevation rather than spectacle. Ancient paths still link valleys and passes, settlements remain active year-round, and movement through the landscape follows the same corridors that have shaped life here for centuries. For travellers drawn to walking holidays and slower outdoor adventures, Queyras offers a grounded, quietly powerful alternative to more intensively developed Alpine regions.
From high villages such as Saint-Véran to remote uplands near Maljasset, routes cross open plateaux, climb sustained passes, and descend into neighbouring valleys. This is a landscape best understood step by step.
Walking in Queyras is defined by continuity. Routes are rarely isolated experiences; instead, they form journeys that link places, landscapes, and days together. Forested valleys open into alpine basins, passes connect distinct communities, and progress through the terrain matters.
This makes Queyras particularly well suited to self-guided walking holidays, offering:
Despite its altitude and terrain, Queyras remains notably quiet, rewarding walkers who value space, rhythm, and immersion.
The GR5 passes directly through Queyras as it travels from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Its stages here are among the most sustained in the southern Alps, crossing high passes and broad uplands before descending toward lower valleys.
For long-distance walkers, Queyras represents a defining section of the route — remote, demanding, and deeply Alpine in character.
Beyond the GR5, Queyras is crossed by a dense network of historic paths connecting:
These routes allow walkers to shape journeys around experience, season, and conditions, combining high-level crossings with valley travel.
Queyras is also well suited to multi-day cycling journeys. Quiet valley roads and mountain passes follow the same natural corridors as walking routes, linking villages and valleys rather than looping back to a single base.
Cycling here tends to be purposeful rather than fast — shaped by elevation, distance, and connection between places. For riders seeking Alpine journeys with less traffic and a strong sense of progression, Queyras offers a distinctive and rewarding setting.
Walking and cycling intersect naturally, sharing routes, settlements, and places to stay, and reinforcing Queyras as a region experienced through movement rather than short stops.
Within a compact area, Queyras encompasses a wide range of Alpine environments:
Ibex, chamois, marmots, and birds of prey are common, while fortified villages, seasonal pasture huts, and border routes reflect centuries of adaptation to altitude and climate.
Protection here is inseparable from continuity — the landscape remains legible because it is still used.
Accommodation in Queyras supports long-distance travel rather than short stays.
Villages provide small hotels, guesthouses, and auberges suited to village-to-village walking holidays. Higher routes depend on mountain refuges, positioned to enable safe passage across high ground and longer stages.
Together, these places to stay shape journeys on foot and by bike, determining daily distances and natural stopping points.
Queyras offers a particular kind of Alpine experience — one defined by scale, continuity, and restraint.
It appeals to travellers looking for:
As a regional natural park, Queyras preserves not just scenery, but the conditions that make meaningful journeys possible.
Queyras connects naturally to:
Each offers a different entry into the landscape, linked by paths, passes, and historic routes.
Queyras Regional Natural Park is located in the southern French Alps, close to the Italian border, east of the Dauphiné Alps. It sits between major Alpine regions, with historic routes linking it to neighbouring valleys such as the Ubaye and across mountain passes into Italy.
Queyras is a high-altitude Alpine region defined by deep valleys, open uplands, and small mountain villages. It feels remote without being inaccessible, with a strong sense of continuity between landscape, settlement, and historic routes. Compared to more developed Alpine areas, it is quieter, slower, and more grounded in everyday mountain life.
Walking and hiking are central to Queyras, from multi-day routes and high-pass crossings to village-to-village journeys. The region also suits multi-day cycling journeys on quiet valley roads and mountain passes, alongside nature-based exploration such as wildlife watching and seasonal alpine activities.
Yes. Queyras has small hotels, guesthouses, auberges, and mountain refuges spread across its villages and valleys. These are complemented by local restaurants and cafés offering regional Alpine cuisine, often tied closely to seasonal produce and mountain traditions.
Queyras can be reached by train to Mont-Dauphin–Guillestre, the main rail gateway to the region, with regional TER services connecting via cities such as Valence, Grenoble, and Marseille. From the station, local buses and seasonal shuttle services link into Queyras villages and valleys, particularly during the main walking season. Road access is also available via mountain routes, though many walking holidays and long-distance trails can be completed point-to-point using public transport at either end, with some planning.
