Grande Traversee des Alpes

The alpine portion of the GR5 long distance hiking trail is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and personally rewarding multi-day hiking experiences in the world.
But you can't beat the GR5 for the sheer beauty of Alpine slopes and pastures, flanked by some snow-covered mountains and glaciers, and punctuated by the the charm of flower-filled French villages, served up with good food of French hotels and inns and/or the comraderie of French communal lodgings—refuges and gîtes d''etape, (and a few Italian and Swiss ones)— all this with the variety that comes from changing elevations and diminishing rainfall as you move from the lush and green north to the sparse and brown south and to the sub-tropical Mediterranean.There are three considerations that might deter you: First, you won't be among many native English speakers: Few British and even fewer Americans walk the GR5. That said, most hikers will speak English as a second or third language. In lodgings of all types, if you are polite, people will try to speak English. They will view conversation with you as an opportunity to practice their English.. Possible negative feelings that some may have to today's American foreign policy will not carry over to you as an individual, and, assuming you are polite in your discussions, an exchange of views will be welcomed. To an adventurous traveler the language issue is more of an opportunity than a problem.
The second consideration that might deter you is the weather: This consideration applies to any northern Alps hiking trip, whether in France, Switzerland, or Austria. While the southern Alps are generally sunny, the Northern Alps can be rainy—that is why they are so green—and rain can delay or even spoil a GR5 trip. By and large I personally have had good luck with the weather with either no rain or only a couple of days of rain, but one never knows.