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National parks and regional nature parks

Granite towers above Patagonian glaciers, 16 lakes spilling into one another, the Big Five across nearly 2 million hectares: national and regional parks worth the trip.

  • 22 protected areas
  • 8 countries
See the listExplore on the mapWhere to stay

Plitvice Lakes National Park : Tesla Delacroix, CC BY-SA · Swiss National Park : Wandersmaa, CC BY-SA · Cévennes National Park : Myrabella, CC BY-SA · Calanques National Park : kallerna, CC BY-SA

National parks and regional parks, chosen for the journey

This page gathers the national parks and regional nature parks with a page on the site: 22 protected areas in 8 countries, from the Patagonian granite of Torres del Paine to the thatched marshes of the Brière. Each card carries the fact that sets the park apart; each page gives rules, prices, seasons and access, read at the park authority.

Read more

Use it to choose. The table below pairs six parks with what each does best, the figures compare size, altitude and year of creation, and the rules table shows where dogs, drones and wild camping are banned. Filter the grid by country, or open the map to start from a region.

22 places on the map Open the full map
Parks in CroatiaParks in FranceParks in GermanyParks in SpainParks in the United Kingdom

National parks

Berchtesgaden National Park

7,546 ft from the floor of the Königssee to the Watzmann summit.GermanyNational park

Cairngorms National Park

4 of 5 of the highest mountains in the UK rise in its largest national park.United KingdomNational park

Calanques National Park

White limestone coves between Marseille and Cassis, reached on foot.FranceNational park

Cévennes National Park

Starry skies shine over Europe’s largest dark sky reserve, since 2018.FranceNational park

Écrins National Park

150 summits above 9,843 ft, crowned by the 13,458 ft Barre des Écrins.FranceNational park

Gran Paradiso National Park

1922: Italy’s first national park, born to save the ibex.ItalyNational park

Krka National Park

7 waterfalls of tufa along the river, and an island monastery from 1445.CroatiaNational park

Lake District National Park

350 fells around Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain.United KingdomNational park

Mercantour National Park

40,000 rock engravings around Mont Bego, from about 3300 BC.FranceNational park

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park

10,984 ft: Monte Perdido, atop western Europe’s largest limestone massif.SpainNational park

Picos de Europa National Park

8,688 ft of limestone peaks, rising from valleys at 246 ft.SpainNational park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

16 lakes spilling into one another over natural walls of tufa.CroatiaNational park

Port-Cros National Park

1,969 ft of protected sea around Port-Cros and Porquerolles.FranceNational park

Pyrénées National Park

10,820 ft at the Vignemale, and brown bears in the Aspe forests.FranceNational park

Saxon Switzerland National Park

1,135 climbing summits, in the cradle of free climbing.GermanyNational park

Swiss National Park

1914: the oldest national park in the Alps, a strict wilderness.SwitzerlandNational park

Triglav National Park

9,396 ft: Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, at the park’s heart.SloveniaNational park

Vanoise National Park

1963: France’s first national park, created to save the ibex.FranceNational park

Regional nature parks

Luberon Regional Nature Park

28 fossil sites in a UNESCO Geopark of perched villages and ochre cliffs.FranceRegional nature park

Parc naturel régional de Camargue

150,000 birds a year fly over lagoons, rice fields, bulls and horses.FranceRegional nature park

Parc naturel régional des Volcans d’Auvergne

50 mi across the Cantal, which the park calls Europe’s largest volcano.FranceRegional nature park

Vercors Regional Natural Park

4 vultures, every species seen in France, soar above the high plateaus.FranceRegional nature park

Nature reserves and geoparks

Where to stay

Hotels, guesthouses and rentals around the places most visited on this page.

Affiliate links: if you book through them, we earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. How this site is funded

What the labels mean

IUCN defines a protected area as a geographical space with set limits, recognised, dedicated and managed through legal or other effective means to achieve the long-term conservation of nature. Most parks here sit in its category II, national park: a large natural area that protects ecological processes on a large scale and welcomes visitors.

  • Category Ia, the strictest

    The Swiss National Park, founded in 1914, closed in winter and shut to dogs even on a lead.

  • United Kingdom

    15 national parks, free to enter at any time, with villages inside them; the Cairngorms is the largest at 1,748 mi².

How to choose among national parks: six parks, six reasons

A park is chosen for one thing: an animal, a summit, a lake, a way of moving through it. Six parks side by side, each with a figure verified on its page.

ParkGo forOne figureEntry and access
Plitvice Lakes16 lakes stepping down over tufaWorld Heritage since 1979€40 from June to September 2026, timed ticket
Swiss National ParkWilderness under the strictest rules21 official routes on 62 mi of pathsPaths open mid-May to mid-November
Gran ParadisoThe ibex it was created to save, in 1922More than 311 mi of paths350 vehicles a day at most on the Nivolet road, summer 2026
VanoiseFrance’s first national park, created in 19631,700 species of vascular plantsNo entrance fee, no opening hours

National and regional parks in figures

Protected areaCountryAreaTypeCreatedAltitude
Cairngorms National ParkUnited Kingdom1,748 mi²National park2003
Volcans d’Auvergne Regional Natural ParkFrance1,505 mi²Regional nature park19776,188 ft
Lake District National ParkUnited Kingdom912 mi²National park19513,209 ft
Vercors Regional Natural ParkFrance879 mi²Regional nature park19708,048 ft
Luberon Regional Nature ParkFrance714 mi²Regional nature park1977
Camargue Regional Natural ParkFrance390 mi²Regional nature park197013 ft
Cévennes National ParkFrance362 mi²National park19705,574 ft
Écrins National ParkFrance359 mi²National park197313,458 ft
Triglav National ParkSlovenia324 mi²National park19819,396 ft
Mercantour National ParkFrance262 mi²National park197910,312 ft
Picos de Europa National ParkSpain260 mi²National park19188,688 ft
Vanoise National ParkFrance206 mi²National park196312,648 ft
Calanques National ParkFrance201 mi²National park2012
Pyrénées National ParkFrance176 mi²National park196710,820 ft
Berchtesgaden National ParkGermany80 mi²National park19788,901 ft
Swiss National ParkSwitzerland66 mi²National park191410,413 ft
Ordesa y Monte Perdido National ParkSpain61 mi²National park191810,984 ft
Krka National ParkCroatia42 mi²National park1985
Saxon Switzerland National ParkGermany36 mi²National park19901,824 ft
Port-Cros National ParkFrance18 mi²National park1963
Gran Paradiso National ParkItalyNational park1922
Plitvice Lakes National ParkCroatiaNational park1949

Regional nature parks: countryside with people in it

A regional nature park is a lived-in territory: villages, farms and roads stay inside it. The Haute Vallée de Chevreuse, created in 1985 twenty kilometres from Paris, counts 55 villages and no fence around it. Their federation gives the 60 French parks five missions, from heritage to a sustainable local economy; the rules on the ground are those of the countryside, plus local by-laws on fire and camping.

  • Volcans d’Auvergne: close to 400,000 hectares, the largest regional park in mainland France, up to the Puy de Sancy at 6,188 ft.
  • Vercors: 2,858 mi of waymarked routes and the Hauts-Plateaux reserve, 17,030 ha, the largest land nature reserve in metropolitan France.
  • Luberon: a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2004, whose forests close on high fire-risk days from 15 June to 15 September.

Reserves, geoparks and biosphere reserves have their own page: nature reserves and geoparks. The French parks are also gathered under France.

When to go: the seasons the parks set themselves

Three kinds of date decide a visit: a season the manager names as best, a closure, and a crowd. The dated seasons of the parks on this page are gathered under this text.

  • Dry season

    Kruger from April to September, when water is restricted to rivers and waterholes and animals are easier to see.

  • Wildlife

    The deer rut in September in the Swiss National Park and from September to October in Forêts; cranes in the Landes de Gascogne from November.

  • Crowds

    July and August at Plitvice and in the Vanoise.

When to go

Rules that come back from one park to the next

Three subjects decide most rules; the table under this text shows, park by park, where each is banned or needs a booking, read at the park authority as set out on how we check.

  • Dogs

    Banned even on a lead in the core of the Swiss National Park, the Vanoise (€135 fine) and the Écrins, and in Kruger and Torres del Paine.

  • Camping and bivouac

    Banned in Torres del Paine and the Swiss National Park; tolerated in the Écrins from 7 pm to 9 am, an hour’s walk from any road; permitted in the Cairngorms within the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

  • Drones

    Banned for leisure in Gran Paradiso, Kruger, Torres del Paine, the Vanoise and the Écrins.

Rules to know before you go

RuleNot allowedBooking required
Wild camping (bivouac)Berchtesgaden National Park, Calanques National Park, Gran Paradiso National Park, Luberon Regional Nature Park (June to September), Port-Cros National Park, Swiss National Park, Triglav National ParkVanoise National Park
CampingBerchtesgaden National Park, Calanques National Park, Écrins National Park, Krka National Park, Lake District National Park, Luberon Regional Nature Park, Mercantour National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Saxon Switzerland National Park, Swiss National Park, Triglav National Park, Vanoise National Park
FiresBerchtesgaden National Park, Cairngorms National Park (April to September), Calanques National Park, Cévennes National Park, Écrins National Park, Gran Paradiso National Park, Lake District National Park, Luberon Regional Nature Park, Mercantour National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Swiss National Park, Triglav National Park, Vanoise National Park, Vercors Regional Natural Park
DogsÉcrins National Park, Mercantour National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Swiss National Park, Vanoise National Park
DronesBerchtesgaden National Park, Calanques National Park, Cévennes National Park, Écrins National Park, Gran Paradiso National Park, Krka National Park, Mercantour National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Saxon Switzerland National Park, Swiss National Park, Triglav National Park, Vanoise National Park
SwimmingOrdesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Saxon Switzerland National Park, Swiss National Park, Triglav National Park
CyclingPlitvice Lakes National Park, Swiss National Park
Motor vehiclesBerchtesgaden National Park, Cairngorms National Park, Écrins National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Triglav National Park, Vanoise National Park
Picking plantsBerchtesgaden National Park, Gran Paradiso National Park, Krka National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Swiss National Park, Vanoise National Park
FishingKrka National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park
HuntingÉcrins National Park, Krka National Park, Mercantour National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Picos de Europa National Park, Port-Cros National Park, Pyrénées National Park, Vanoise National Park
Scuba divingMercantour National Park
Going ashorePort-Cros National Park
Visitor quotaCalanques National Park (June to September), Gran Paradiso National Park (July to September)

Each page gives the full rules, with their source and the date they were checked.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to pay to enter a national park?

Not in most European parks on this page: the Vanoise has no entrance fee and no opening hours, Hohe Tauern is free all year, and the UK parks are free to enter at any time. Elsewhere a ticket is the rule: €10 to €40 at Plitvice in 2026 depending on the season, R602 a day for an international adult at Kruger, CLP 32,400 a day at Torres del Paine. Each page states the price and the year it applies to.

Can you wild camp in a national park?

It depends on the park, and each page gives the exact rule. Camping and bivouac are banned in Torres del Paine and the Swiss National Park; the Écrins tolerates a bivouac from 7 pm to 9 am more than an hour’s walk from a road; the Vanoise allows it in summer next to certain staffed refuges, booked with the warden. The Cairngorms permit wild camping within the Scottish Outdoor Access Code: a small tent, two or three nights at most in one place, no fire.

Are dogs allowed in national parks?

Often not. Dogs are banned even on a lead in the core of the Swiss National Park, the Vanoise and the Écrins, and in Kruger and Torres del Paine. They are allowed on a lead in the Cairngorms and in Hohe Tauern. Every page has a rules table with the source and the date it was checked.

Which national park should I choose for wildlife?

Kruger for large mammals: 147 species, the Big Five among them, seen from a car in the dry season from April to September. Gran Paradiso was created in 1922 to save the ibex; the Vercors is home to all four vulture species seen in France; the Landes de Gascogne host more than 60,000 wintering cranes from November to March; Torres del Paine has one of the most significant puma populations in the world.

When is the best time to visit a national park in the Alps?

From June to October for the high trails: the Vanoise says most of its paths are passable from about 1 June to 30 October, and the Swiss National Park opens its paths from mid-May to mid-November and closes in winter. July and August are the busiest months, and the Gran Paradiso caps the Nivolet road at 350 vehicles a day on regulation days in summer 2026. September brings the deer rut to the Swiss National Park.

Do I need to book a national park in advance?

Sometimes. Torres del Paine tickets must be bought at least 24 hours ahead, and hikers on the W or the O book every night. Plitvice sells timed tickets, recommended rather than compulsory. The Gran Paradiso requires a NivoletCard to drive to the Nivolet on regulation days in 2026. Each page says whether a booking is required and from which date.