The French Alps have some stunning national parks including the Vanoise National Park (1250km²) and The Ecrins National Park (918km²).

Vanoise National Park (Parc national de la Vanoise)

It was the first French national park created in 1963 and is in the region of Savoie and os one of the 9 French National Parks. You can find the beautiful village of Champagny near this park, so it’s a perfect village to stay in if you are looking to explore. The 3 Valleys and Tarentaise region border this park so you could also stay in Montchavin/Les Coches, St Martin de Belleville, Ste-Foy, Tignes…the park will be a short drive away.

The park is well-known for its population of Alpine ibex.

The Park also has five nature reserves :

. Tignes: Champagny in the communes of Tignes and Champagny-en-Vanoise
. The Bailletaz in Val d’Isère
. The Grande Sassière in Tignes
. The Plan de Tuéda in Méribel les Allues

View here for more information on the above resorts …

The Ecrins National Park (Parc national des Écrins).

This park is one of the 9 French National Parks. The sectors are located within two départements – the Hautes Alpes and Isère – and two regions: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Rhône-Alpes. Top height of 4,102m with glacier fields, pastures, woodlands and lakes.

More than 150 peaks are over 3,000 m high, and the valley floors are at around 1,000 m above sea level. The Park's core zone can only be explored on foot. There are 700km of walking paths.

The park has been awarded the European Diploma of Protected Areas.

Les 2 Alpes is a resort close to the border of the Ecrins National Park so would be a good base if you have a car.

View here for more information on Les 2 Alpes…

You can download a PDF document with some info and a map here courtesy of http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/