Grenoble day out · Hautecombe

180 km from Grenoble

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Why this ride

A 180 km round trip from Grenoble - roughly 3 h 06 in the saddle. It goes by way of Lac d’Aiguebelette, Littoral de Tresserve, Baie de Grésine and Hautecombe. The highest point is about 1,300 m.

Roadbook

1. Grenoble start

   Grenoble is the capital of the French Alps in everything but title, a big, studenty, slightly industrial city set in a flat basin where three valleys meet, the Isère, the Drac and the Grésivaudan. The mountains here are not a backdrop but a wall: the Vercors on one side, Chartreuse on another, Belledonne on the third, so that wherever you look in the city there is rock rising above the rooftops. It is the end of the Route Napoléon in this case, the road Napoleon took in March 1815 when he landed from Elba and marched north to reclaim power, and the story goes that the people of Grenoble opened the gates to him and the army simply melted into his ranks.

   Arriving from Sisteron by that route is the best part of the day. The road comes down through the Alpine foothills, over the Col Bayard near Gap and then down the Valbonnais and the Matheysine, a landscape of plateaus and lakes and quiet farms, before you reach the Drac and the first of the city's outskirts. The final miles are far less romantic: ring roads, dual carriageways and a lot of cars. Grenoble has a reputation for traffic jams at rush hour and for trams that cross your path without warning, so keep your eyes open and avoid the western ring road on a Friday evening.

   For a rider this is a place for services, not for corners. Petrol, food and a bed are all easy here, with a large old town of pedestrian streets and café terraces around the Place Grenette and the Isère quays. The cable-car bubbles to the Bastille fort rise above the river and give the best view of the whole basin, with the Vercors and Belledonne lit up in the late afternoon, though check the opening times of the cable car before planning around it.

   Grenoble was also the city of the 1968 Winter Olympics, and bits of that era survive in the concrete architecture and the sports facilities. It has a strong tradition of science and technology, with research institutes and a university that bring in a young, international crowd, and the food scene reflects it, with Savoyard cheese dishes alongside everything else. Walnuts from the surrounding hills are a local pride, and a walnut tart or a gratin dauphinois is a decent excuse for a longer stop than you planned.

2. Lac d’Aiguebelette sight

   Motorboats are banned on the Lac d'Aiguebelette, and on a calm summer morning you notice the difference straight away: rowers sliding across water so still it mirrors the wooded slopes above, swimmers heading out from small beaches, and no engine noise beyond the occasional car on the shore road. The lake, in Savoie just west of Chambéry, is one of the largest natural lakes in France, and its clean water is among the warmest of the alpine lakes in summer. It hosted the World Rowing Championships in 2015.

   The lake lies at the foot of the Montagne de l'Épine, a limestone ridge that separates it from Chambéry, and the A43 motorway passes beneath through a tunnel. The old road over the Col de l'Épine, from Chambéry, climbs in tight bends through forest to the pass and then drops toward the lake, with superb views across the water and the hills to the west. The Col du Mont du Chat, further north, is another climb, steep and narrow, with views over the Lac du Bourget.

   The shore road around the lake is narrow and busy in summer, with cyclists, walkers and parking cars, so take it slowly. The surrounding country of the Avant-Pays Savoyard is a gentle landscape of hills, villages and farms, with quiet roads and pleasant views. Spring and autumn are lovely, when the crowds are gone and the light is soft.

   The lake has two islands, one with the ruins of a chapel, and the shores are partly protected as a nature reserve, home to birds and plants. Swimming is possible at several beaches, some with an entrance fee in summer. Fuel and services are available in Cognin, seven kilometres away, and Chambéry, a little further, has everything. Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin, to the west, is another option. Lakeside restaurants serve fish from the lake, including perch, and Savoyard dishes such as tartiflette.

3. Littoral de Tresserve sight

   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.

   The lake has a literary fame too. Alphonse de Lamartine met his great love, Julie Charles, in Aix-les-Bains in 1816, and after her death he wrote Le Lac, one of the most famous poems in the French language, about the lake that saw their happiness. Across the water, on the steep western shore, the Abbey of Hautecombe sits by the water at the foot of the Mont du Chat, burial place of the princes of the House of Savoy.

   Aix-les-Bains is an old spa town, with Belle Époque hotels, a casino and thermal baths, and it makes an excellent base. The riding around the lake is superb. The road along the western shore, below the Dent du Chat, is narrow and winding, with the cliffs on one side and the water on the other. Above it, the climb to the Mont du Chat is steep and tight, with long drops on the outside of the hairpins and no room for daydreaming. On the eastern side, the road up to Mont Revard climbs in long bends to a plateau with views over the lake and, on clear days, Mont Blanc.

   The lake is a place to swim in summer, with beaches and lidos around the shore; the water is clear and warms up well by July. Mornings are often hazy; afternoons can bring thunderstorms that roll in over the mountains.

   Aix-les-Bains has fuel, garages and every kind of food, from lakeside cafés to restaurants serving lake fish such as lavaret, a whitefish found in the Alpine lakes. Tresserve, the residential village above the shore, is quiet and green. Park by the water, take off your helmet, and listen to the lake.

4. Baie de Grésine sight

   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.

   The eastern shore is dominated by the spa town of Aix-les-Bains, popular since Roman times for its hot springs and a fashionable resort in the nineteenth century, with grand hotels, a casino and a lakeside promenade. Across the lake, on the western shore, the Abbaye de Hautecombe, a Cistercian abbey on the water, holds the tombs of many members of the House of Savoy, the dynasty that once ruled this region and later became the royal family of Italy.

   For riders, the area offers superb roads. Above the western shore, the Dent du Chat road and the Col du Chat climb steeply over the mountain ridge, with tight bends and views over the lake. The road along the western shore is narrow and winding, with tunnels and cliffs. To the east, the road from Aix-les-Bains up to Mont Revard climbs through forests to a plateau with a spectacular view over the lake and, on a clear day, Mont Blanc. Further afield, the Bauges massif offers quiet, twisty roads through limestone mountains and pastures, and the Chartreuse massif, to the south, has famous passes and gorges.

   Traffic around Aix-les-Bains and Chambéry can be heavy, especially in summer, and the roads around the lake are busy on weekends. The weather is generally mild, but storms can build up quickly over the mountains in summer.

   Aix-les-Bains, a town of over twenty-five thousand people about five kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants of every kind; Brison-Saint-Innocent and Grésy-sur-Aix have more limited facilities. Try lavaret, a white fish from the lake, served with butter and lemon, or a plate of diots, Savoyard sausages cooked in white wine, with crozets, small square pasta made from buckwheat. And sit by the lake at dusk, as Lamartine did, and watch the light fade over the water.

5. Hautecombe turn

   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.

   The abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in the twelfth century, and in the following centuries it became the burial place of the counts and dukes of Savoy. The House of Savoy later became the royal family of Italy, and it is a strange fact that the last king of Italy, Umberto II, who died in exile in 1983, was buried here. The church is full of tombs and sculpture, and the style is a mixture of Gothic and nineteenth-century revival. The abbey was damaged in the Revolution and restored in the nineteenth century, and today it is home to a Catholic community that welcomes visitors.

   The road there runs along the lake's western shore, a quiet and narrow route with views across the water to Aix-les-Bains, and traffic can build in summer. The surface is generally good, with gentle bends rather than anything dramatic. Further north, the Rhone flows through the marshes of Chautagne, and the village of Chanaz has a canal that links the lake to the river. Mont du Chat, the ridge on the west side, offers a steep, winding road for those who want more of a challenge.

   Brison-Saint-Innocent and Chatillon are the nearest villages with a few thousand people, and Aix-les-Bains, on the eastern shore, is a spa town with everything you need, including fuel. Try fish from the lake, such as perch and omble chevalier, served with local white wine. Quiet early mornings give the best light on the water, and the abbey itself is calm outside peak hours. Dress modestly, and be prepared to speak softly inside the church.

6. back through Baie de Grésine stop

   back through Baie de Grésine comes up 113 km in.

7. back through Littoral de Tresserve stop
8. back through Lac d’Aiguebelette stop

   back through Lac d’Aiguebelette, late in the day.

9. Grenoble finish

   The route ends here after 180 km.

Where this sits

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