Why this ride
A 186 km round trip from Annecy - roughly 3 h 47 in the saddle. The stops in between: Baie de Châtillon, Baie de Grésine, Hautecombe and Littoral de Tresserve.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Annecy afternoon · Littoral de Tresserve
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 186 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 47
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Annecy
Annecy sits at the northern tip of its lake, with the mountains stacked behind it, and on a clear morning it is one of the prettiest towns in the French Alps. The old centre is a knot of canals, arcaded streets and pastel houses, with a small medieval prison built on an island in the middle of the stream, and the lake beyond is so clean that you can see the bottom a long way out. With around 49,000 people it has everything: fuel, food, repair shops and plenty of places to sleep.
Read the complete Annecy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Annecy is where the day begins. Next is Baie de Châtillon.
2. Baie de Châtillon
At the northern tip of the Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake entirely in France, the shore curves into a shallow bay below the village of Châtillon and its castle. In the shallows, divers and archaeologists have found the remains of prehistoric lake villages, and the Baie de Châtillon is one of the French sites included in the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. The castle, perched on a rocky hill above the bay, was the seat of local lords in the Middle Ages and has a commanding view over the lake.
Read the complete Baie de Châtillon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Baie de Châtillon comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baie de Grésine.
3. Baie de Grésine
Lac du Bourget is the largest natural lake in France, a long, deep lake in Savoie between the Jura and the Alps, and the poet Alphonse de Lamartine made it famous with his poem Le Lac, written after a love affair that began on its shores. The Baie de Grésine, near Brison-Saint-Innocent on the eastern shore, is one of the prehistoric pile-dwelling sites of the lake, part of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps listed by UNESCO in 2011. As with other such sites, the remains lie underwater, but the bay and its surroundings are a beautiful place to stop.
Read the complete Baie de Grésine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Baie de Grésine. Next is Hautecombe.
4. Hautecombe
Hautecombe Abbey stands on the western shore of Lac du Bourget, in Savoy, and it is almost impossible to reach without seeing the lake first. The Lac du Bourget is the largest natural lake entirely in France, a deep blue sheet under limestone cliffs, and the abbey sits on a small rocky spur above the water, with a boat landing and a church whose tower is visible across the bay. The poet Lamartine, who fell in love here in 1816, wrote a famous poem called Le Lac, about a lost love at this water.
Read the complete Hautecombe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hautecombe, about halfway. Next is Littoral de Tresserve.
5. Littoral de Tresserve
The Lac du Bourget is the largest natural lake entirely in France, a long blue trough in the Savoie Prealps, and the shore at Tresserve, just south of Aix-les-Bains, is one of the quiet places to see it. Beneath the water here lie the remains of prehistoric lake dwellings, villages of timber houses built on piles along the shore thousands of years ago. The site is part of the UNESCO-listed Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, a series of more than a hundred settlements in six countries. There is nothing to see above the surface, but knowing it is there changes the way you look at the reeds and shallows.
Read the complete Littoral de Tresserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Littoral de Tresserve sits at 59 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hautecombe.
6. back through Hautecombe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hautecombe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hautecombe comes up about 118 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Baie de Grésine.
7. back through Baie de Grésine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Baie de Grésine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Baie de Grésine. Next is back through Baie de Châtillon.
8. back through Baie de Châtillon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Baie de Châtillon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Baie de Châtillon, late in the day. Next is Annecy.
9. Annecy
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Annecy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 186 km.
Leg by leg
Annecy to Baie de Châtillon
Annecy → Baie de Châtillon is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baie de Châtillon to Baie de Grésine
Baie de Châtillon → Baie de Grésine is 9 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baie de Grésine to Hautecombe
Baie de Grésine → Hautecombe is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hautecombe to Littoral de Tresserve
Hautecombe → Littoral de Tresserve is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Littoral de Tresserve to back through Hautecombe
Littoral de Tresserve → back through Hautecombe is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hautecombe to back through Baie de Grésine
back through Hautecombe → back through Baie de Grésine is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Baie de Grésine to back through Baie de Châtillon
back through Baie de Grésine → back through Baie de Châtillon is 9 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Baie de Châtillon to Annecy
back through Baie de Châtillon → Annecy is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.