Via Ferrata

Via Ferrata: everything you need to know

Looking for a nature activity to do with friends or family? Discover Via Ferrata with Funbooker! We've selected for you the most beautiful routes to do in France. You'll be accompanied by state-certified guides to ensure your safety.

What is Via Ferrata?

Via Ferrata is the activity of traversing a course on rock or cliff walls, halfway between hiking, climbing, mountaineering and tree climbing. An itinerary is marked out on the rock face, which you'll have to follow while attached to a lifeline on your harness. It's like hiking up a mountain! A new way of sightseeing and discovering a region.

What's the difference with Via Corda? Via Ferrata is a course on a cable, whereas Via Corda is a course on a rope. Via Corda is really halfway between climbing and hiking.

The different workshops

On your route, the aim will be to cross various workshops. Among the most famous are

• Ladder
• Tyroliennes
• Nepalese bridge

Where to do Via Ferrata in France? Our selection of the finest routes

France is packed with some of the most beautiful Via Ferrata spots in the world. Here's our guide to the most beautiful Via Ferrata to do in France.

Via Ferrata de la Roche à Agathe

This via ferrata located near Annecy in Thônes is exciting and full of obstacles. As well as finding magnificent scenery, you'll be challenged by the difficulty of the second part of the course, which will require good physical condition. It lasts around 1h30.

Via Ferrata de Liaucous

Located in Aveyron, this is a highly reputed 2-section course. You'll have to cross a Nepalese bridge, monkey bridges, footbridges, a cave and, of course, a zip line.

Via Ferrata Jules Carret

Located in Savoie near Chambéry, this via ferrata offers a vertical drop of almost 1000 meters and a course 400 meters long. It is considered to be of a difficult level by Via Ferrata enthusiasts

Via Ferrata de Cavaillon

If there's one via ferrata not to be missed, it's the Colline Saint-Jacques! You'll have an exceptional view of the town, the Ventoux, the Vaucluse mountains, the Durance valley and the Alpilles. You can choose between 2 2-hour itineraries, one offering a 50-metre cliff ascent, and the other being more difficult where you can pass through caves!

Via Ferrata de Bussang

This is the only Via Ferrata spot in the Vosges. Depending on the route you choose, you'll climb different cliffs and admire the natural canyon, take a 60-meter zip line, see the town of Ornans in the Loue valley or catch a glimpse of the Verneau cirque in the Lison valley.

Via Ferrata Le trou du renard

Located in the Gorges du Verdon, the most beautiful via ferrata remains the trou du renard course. It's the only route on the cliffs overlooking the grand canyon. A guide is required to negotiate certain passages.

Via Ferrata Les Alias aux Cauterets

Discover this mythical Via Ferrata des Pyrénées, a veritable playground with several zip lines ranging in length from 45 to 250 meters. Its special feature is a picnic table suspended halfway along the route, as well as a lovely panorama of the Pyrenees massif.

Via Ferrata des Rapaces

This Via features an acrobatic course about 100 meters above river level near Sarlat. It is accessible to all and offers a unique panorama of the Dordogne valley and Périgord.

Via Ferrata Yves Pollet-Villard in La Clusaz

Located in La Clusaz in Haute-Savoie, this is a magnificent route offering grandiose panoramic views. This Via Ferrata is generally rated AD (fairly difficult). The vertical drop is 300 meters.

Via Ferrata Le Rocher du Vent near Mont-Blanc

Set between alpine pastures and the man-made lakes of the Roseland dam, it offers panoramic, unobstructed 360° views, including of the Mont-Blanc massif. Divided into 4 sections, it's a fun trail in Savoie for everyone.