Why this ride
253 km from Aix-les-Bains to Aix-les-Bains, about 4 h 45 of riding. It goes by way of Secteur des Mongets, Baie de Châtillon, Le Crêt de Chatillon and back through Baie de Châtillon.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Littoral de Tresserve and Le Crêt de Chatillon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 253 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Secteur des Mongets.
2. Secteur des Mongets
Sevrier, on the western shore of Lake Annecy, is home to an unusual industry: bells. The Paccard foundry, which has been casting bells since the late eighteenth century and moved to Sevrier in the 1980s, has made bells for churches and carillons all over the world, and its museum explains how they are designed, cast and tuned. It is a curious contrast to the quiet lakeshore just below the village, where the Secteur des Mongets marks the remains of a prehistoric village built on the edge of the lake, now under water. It is one of the sites included in the World Heritage listing of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, and divers have found wooden piles, pottery and tools in the lake bed.
Read the complete Secteur des Mongets write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Secteur des Mongets comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baie de Châtillon.
3. 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
about 84 km into the recorded legs you reach Baie de Châtillon. Next is Le Crêt de Chatillon.
4. Le Crêt de Chatillon
The Crêt de Châtillon is the summit of the Semnoz, the long wooded mountain that rises above the western shore of Lake Annecy, and from the top, at around 1,700 metres, the view on a clear day is one of the finest in the French Alps: the whole lake below, the Bauges and the Aravis around, and, to the east, Mont Blanc in all its glory. Sites with names like Châtillon and Les Mongets along this shore preserve the remains of villages built on the edge of the lake thousands of years ago.
Read the complete Le Crêt de Chatillon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Le Crêt de Chatillon, about halfway. Next is back through Baie de Châtillon.
5. 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 sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Secteur des Mongets.
6. back through Secteur des Mongets
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Secteur des Mongets write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Secteur des Mongets comes up about 210 km into the recorded legs. Next is Littoral de Tresserve.
7. Littoral de Tresserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Littoral de Tresserve to Secteur des Mongets
Littoral de Tresserve → Secteur des Mongets is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Secteur des Mongets to Baie de Châtillon
Secteur des Mongets → Baie de Châtillon is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baie de Châtillon to Le Crêt de Chatillon
Baie de Châtillon → Le Crêt de Chatillon is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Le Crêt de Chatillon to back through Baie de Châtillon
Le Crêt de Chatillon → back through Baie de Châtillon is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Baie de Châtillon to back through Secteur des Mongets
back through Baie de Châtillon → back through Secteur des Mongets is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Secteur des Mongets to Littoral de Tresserve
back through Secteur des Mongets → Littoral de Tresserve is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.