Vallée de Vicdessos Via Ferrata

Head southeast in the Ariégeoises Pyrénées and you'll come to the Vicdessos Valley, a beautifully mountainous landscape nestled under the shadow of the 3,077 m Montcalm Massif. Like most places in this part of France, there are enough adventurous possibilities in Vicdessos to keep you occupied for a month, however you'd be hard pressed to find one with better views than the valley's via ferrata course. CoursES, to be precise, since there are actually two routes you can tackle. The southern course is the easier of the two, and tops out at a more-or-less gradual elevation gain of 250 meters, while the northern course offers a much more challenging and rewarding 2.5 hour ascent over bridges and up 385 m of often-sheer rock face. Anyone seriously looking for adventure should head straight for the latter option, which has more than a few "whoah" moments along the way. Once you've reached the top, take a few minutes to savor your victory and enjoy the incredible view before the 30-40 minute trek back down the mountain. For an afternoon spent tackling some incredible southern French scenery, this is a hard one to beat.