The best waterfalls in France

The Gavarnie Cirque hike is truly unforgettable. This massive glacial cirque, carved out by retreating glaciers, forms a gigantic semi-circular cliff “amphitheatre” about 6 km in diameter, with a vertical drop of up to 1,500 metres. It is also home to the highest single-drop waterfall (Gavarnie Falls) in Europe (423 metres).

We took a bus that passed through several small mountain villages, and after about an hour and a half, we arrived at the site.

Also located in the same region, Les Cascades du Hérisson (Ménétrux-en-Joux) is often described as “beautiful like a musical score.” The water cascades down a series of stepped waterfalls, and as it flows over the rocks, it creates a distinctive, melodic sound.

We drove to the Camping Car car park and picked up the little path that follows the Le Dard river from there. It winds a bit, but honestly the walk itself was part of the fun — 40 minutes in, and there were small surprises along the way the whole time. Don't let the walk put you off, it's not tiring at all.

If you'd rather skip the walk altogether, that's fine too — you can drive straight along the main road right up to the falls, and there's free parking there as well.

Where It Is

The road into Salazie doesn't ease you in. One minute you're driving through Saint-André, and the next the walls of the cirque close in on both sides, green from top to bottom, with water running off them in places that don't even look like they should hold a waterfall. Cascade du Voile de la Mariée is the one everyone comes for, but it's really just the introduction to a day that keeps handing you more cascades than you can photograph.

We started at 8am from a hotel on the west coast, which meant a decent drive before we even reached Salazie proper. Our driver stopped in Saint-Denis so we could pick up lunch at a supermarket, since options thin out fast once you're up in the cirque. By 10am we were in Salazie itself, at a small church with a garden attached. I'll be honest, we didn't dig into the church's history much. It's a modest building and we were eager to keep moving toward the waterfall everyone talks about.

Finding the Voile de la Mariée Viewpoint

The Pyrenees have no shortage of waterfalls, but few actually earn the title of a "great" one. Cascade d'Ars is one that does — a total drop of 246 meters over three tiers, once ranked by 19th-century Pyrenean mountaineer Henry Russell as the most beautiful waterfall in the entire range, rivaling even the famous Cascade de Gavarnie. I hiked it myself recently, and here's what the trail is actually like, for anyone planning the same trip.

Where it is and how to get there

Cascade d'Ars sits in the Ariège department, in the Couserans region of southwestern France, inside the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises. Administratively it belongs to Aulus-les-Bains, a small spa village. The trailhead is right at the edge of the village: follow the D8 road toward Col de Latrape for about 200 meters, and the first hairpin bend marks the start, with a signboard at the trailhead. Parking is free but limited — around twenty spots — so in peak season (July–August) it's worth arriving early, though there's overflow parking elsewhere in the village.