Lac du Bourget Balcony Ride
A 334 km loop
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Why this ride
Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. Out of Saint-Martin-en-Haut and back again: 334 km, roughly 6 h 11 in the saddle. It goes by way of in Saint-Étienne, Scenic stretch in Moidieu and Péronnas. The climb of the day is near L'Isle-d'Abeau.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop in Saint-Martin-en-Haut
fuel
Saint-Martin-en-Haut lives up to its name: it sits high in the Monts du Lyonnais, on a plateau around seven hundred metres up, about thirty kilometres west of Lyon. On a clear day, the views from the village stretch east over the Rhône valley to the Alps, with Mont Blanc visible on the horizon, and west over the rolling hills to the Monts du Forez.
The Monts du Lyonnais are a land of small farms, pastures, orchards and woods, with villages scattered along the ridges. The climate is cooler and wetter than in Lyon, and the landscape is greener. Dairy farming is important, and local cheeses and charcuterie are excellent. The area is also known for its fruit, especially apples, pears and cherries.
As a start and fuel stop, Saint-Martin-en-Haut has the basics, including a service station, shops and cafés. From here, the roads lead in every direction through the hills, with endless bends, climbs and descents, and wide views from the ridges. The routes towards Yzeron, Duerne and Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise are particularly fine.
Surfaces are generally good, though some minor roads are narrow and patched. Traffic is light, but watch for tractors, cyclists and livestock. In winter, the plateau can be snowy and icy, and fog is common in autumn. The cool air and green landscape make this a refreshing escape from the heat of Lyon in summer.
- Food stop in Saint-Étienne
food
Saint-Étienne wears its history in layers of coal, iron and cloth, and from the ring roads on the north side you can see how a city spread across a series of ridges, with the hills of the Pilat to the south and the mining basin of the Gier to the east. This is the second time the rides use it as a base, and it makes sense: with nearly a hundred and seventy-six thousand people, it has fuel on every approach, early bakeries and a tram that runs through the centre. The suburbs of Saint-Genest-Lerpt and Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, each with about six thousand people, climb the hills on the north side and make the quickest exit onto quieter roads.
The city's industrial story is still visible, not least in the preserved Puits Couriot, a former pithead with a tall headframe that now forms part of a mining museum. Nearby in Firminy, about ten kilometres west, stands the largest ensemble of buildings designed by Le Corbusier in Europe, including a housing block, a stadium and a church whose concrete cone rises against the sky. These are the places to see if you have a free hour or an interest in modern architecture, and they are no distance from the route.
As a ride start, Saint-Étienne offers an easy exit to the hills. In twenty minutes you can be climbing among beech and fir toward the Pilat, with the ridge road and its views opening out over the Rhône valley, and in an hour you can be in the high country, the air noticeably thinner and cooler. The same roads bring you back at the end of the day, usually in the lower light of evening, with the glow of the city below you and the smell of woodsmoke on the air.
Coming back in the dark, take care at the junctions near the ring road, where trams, buses and delivery vans share narrow streets. The city can be damp and foggy in autumn and winter, while in summer the heat in the valley is a pleasant contrast to the hills. A plate of local sausage with potatoes in a simple restaurant is the right way to end it.
- Scenic stretch in Moidieu
scenic
Moidieu-Détourbe is a quiet village in the hills east of Vienne, in the valley of the Gère, among fields, pastures and woods. It is a typical Bas-Dauphiné village, with a church, a few farms and houses, and a peaceful atmosphere. The surrounding hills offer pleasant views over the countryside.
The great attraction nearby is Vienne, about fifteen kilometres to the west, one of the most important Roman cities in Gaul. Its Temple of Augustus and Livia, built in the first century, is one of the best-preserved Roman temples in France, and the ancient theatre, cut into the hillside above the town, is used every summer for the Jazz à Vienne festival, one of the major jazz festivals in Europe. Across the Rhône, at Saint-Romain-en-Gal, a large archaeological site and museum reveal the remains of Roman houses, workshops and mosaics.
The riding around Moidieu is relaxed and scenic. Roads wind through the hills and along the valley of the Gère, with frequent bends, short climbs and descents. Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light. The descent into Vienne offers views over the Rhône valley.
Fuel and food are available in Vienne and nearby towns. As a scenic stretch, Moidieu offers a calm, rural interlude on the way to the Alps or the Rhône valley. Vienne itself is well worth a stop, for its Roman heritage and its lively old town.
- High point near L'Isle-d'Abeau
pass
L'Isle-d'Abeau is a town that was planned on paper. In the 1970s, it was chosen as one of the new towns designed to absorb the growth of big French cities, in this case Lyon, and its neighbourhoods were built around the old village on the hills between Lyon and Grenoble. The result is a mix of modern housing, business parks and green spaces, practical rather than beautiful, but surrounded by countryside that is much more appealing.
The Nord-Isère hills around the town are gentle and green, with woods, meadows and small lakes. The area was once a marshy plain, drained over the centuries, and the remnants of wetlands still attract birds. To the north lies the Isle Crémieu, a limestone plateau with ponds, caves and the medieval town of Crémieu, with its huge covered market and fortified gates. To the east, the land rises towards the Alps, with the Chartreuse and Bugey on the horizon.
The riding here is a mix of busy main roads and quieter rural lanes. The A43 motorway runs past, linking Lyon with Chambéry and the Alps, and the roads around the town can be congested at rush hour. But head north or east, and the roads quickly become quieter and more winding, with views over the hills and the plain.
L'Isle-d'Abeau and neighbouring Bourgoin-Jallieu have plenty of fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants, making this a convenient stop. Bourgoin is known for its rugby club and its textile heritage. Onward, the way heads towards the Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France, with its balcony roads and views over the water to the mountains.
- Near Péronnas, on the way back
swim
Bourg-en-Bresse lies just east of here, and this stop sits on its western edge, between Péronnas, Buellas and Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg. The country is gentle, with fields, hedges, farm buildings and the outskirts of a mid-sized town. To the south the Dombes plateau begins, a region of hundreds of shallow ponds created by monks and lords in the Middle Ages for fish farming.
Bourg's great treasure is the Royal Monastery of Brou, built in the early sixteenth century by Margaret of Austria in memory of her husband, Philibert the Handsome of Savoy. Its church is a riot of late Gothic stone carving, with three magnificent tombs and a colourful glazed tile roof. It is one of the finest buildings of its period in France, and it is worth an hour even if you are in a hurry.
The Dombes ponds are drained and refilled in cycles, alternating between fish and crops. They are rich in birdlife, with herons, egrets and ducks in large numbers, and the bird park at Villars-les-Dombes is one of the largest in Europe. The ponds themselves are private and not for swimming.
For a swim, look to Bourg itself. The leisure area at Bouvent, on the northern side of town, has a lake with a bathing area in summer. Check the season and supervision before you go. Otherwise, the town pools offer a reliable alternative.
The riding is easy and open, with straight roads, roundabouts and some traffic around Bourg. The Revermont hills to the east offer more interesting roads, climbing into the Jura foothills with tight bends and views back over the Bresse.
Péronnas has fuel and a supermarket on the way in, and Bourg has the rest, from bakeries to proper brasseries. If you skipped the chicken in the north of the Bresse, here is your second chance.
- Photo stop near Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne
photo
The Chalaronne winds its last few kilometres towards the Saône past Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne, a quiet village of brick and timber houses at the western edge of the Dombes. Here the plateau of ponds slopes down to the broad Saône valley, and the landscape becomes a mix of meadows, woods and fields, with the hills of the Beaujolais rising on the other side of the river.
The village is small and peaceful, with a church and a few farms, and it gives a good sense of rural life in the Ain. The houses in this area are often built of pisé, rammed earth, or with brick and wooden frames, a traditional style adapted to a region with little stone. The Saône floodplain nearby is a haven for birds, especially in winter and spring, when the meadows flood and attract ducks, waders and storks.
As for the riding, it is relaxed. The roads are flat or gently rolling, linking villages through fields and woods, with very little traffic. They are a pleasant way to cross from the Dombes to the Saône valley and the Beaujolais. Watch for tractors and for the occasional sharp bend at a farm corner. In the morning, mist often hangs over the river and the meadows, creating beautiful light for photographs.
Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne has few services, so fuel and food are best found in Thoissey, a small town on the Saône, or Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, a short ride east. Across the river, the vineyards of the Beaujolais are an inviting prospect, and the bridges at Thoissey or Belleville provide easy access. After this stop the ride continues east towards the Lac du Bourget and the mountains of Savoy.
- Near Miribel
finish
East of Lyon, the Rhône splits into channels and lakes on its way into the city, and the vast Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage has been made out of that watery landscape. This finish lies just above it, on the edge of the Côtière, the steep slope that separates the river plain from the Dombes plateau, between Thil, Beynost and Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost.
The park is the main reason to linger. It covers more than two thousand hectares of lakes, woods and meadows, with a large lake, the Lac des Eaux Bleues, that has supervised bathing beaches in summer. On hot weekends it is packed with Lyonnais, but on a weekday evening it can be surprisingly calm. It also plays a serious role as a flood plain and drinking water reserve for the city.
Above Miribel, on the Côtière, stands a tall statue of the Virgin on a tower, the Madone du Mas Rillier, built in the mid-twentieth century and visible from miles around. The view from up there takes in the Rhône plain, Lyon, and on clear days the Alps and Mont Blanc.
The riding is a mix of busy and quiet. The A42 and the old national road run along the bottom of the slope, with plenty of traffic, while small roads climb the Côtière in tight bends to the plateau. Up top, the Dombes roads are straight and quiet, with ponds and farms on either side.
On a warm evening the order of events writes itself: a swim in the Eaux Bleues, a slow climb up the Côtière to the Madone as the plain turns orange, then dinner in Miribel, where fuel and supermarkets are also close at hand.
- Back to Lac
finish
Saint-Martin-en-Haut lives up to its name, which means St Martin on the heights. Aveize and the old hamlets of the area sit among meadows and orchards, and the whole region is unexpectedly rural, though it lies less than an hour from the city.
The ride here began at Lac du Bourget, far to the east, so it ends on a different note. These hills have no famous passes, but the roads are among the best in the region: they climb and dip in long, steady bends, crossing ridges that give wide views, and the surface is generally smooth. Traffic is light, except on summer Sundays when Lyonnais cyclists take over. In winter the heights can be cold and icy, and fog is frequent, so the best seasons are late spring and early autumn.
The Monts du Lyonnais are known for farming. Orchards of cherries, apricots and apples cover the slopes, and goat cheese and charcuterie are sold at village shops. The area was once a centre for weaving silk at home, and a number of old stone houses with large windows, built for looms, survive. Old chapels and calvaries stand on many hilltops.
The nearest large town is Mornant, eleven kilometres away, with a market and stations, though Saint-Martin itself has a small centre with a baker and a bar. Fuel should be taken in Mornant or Lyon before climbing into the hills. For rest, the village has a pleasant square and some benches, and several viewpoints along the road offer a place to sit.
As the finishing point of a Bourget loop, it is a calm and pastoral one, with a good view back over the Rhône valley as the light fades.