Something that may not be widely known is the French love for walking - their commitment to the 'Randonnée' is such, according to franceonfoot.com, that although the country is three times England’s size, it has more than eight times the mileage of public footpaths.

 These are marked out  to make them easy to follow using colour coded symbols (examples of which can be seen here http://randotouraine.asso.fr/ . You will find organized walks all over the country - in towns, villages and their surrounding countryside.              The walks can range from 2 to 20 km.

See this site for locations :http://www.rando-valdeloire.fr/index.php