North To South In The Rhone-Aples
Welcome back to French Vacation Tips,
This week we are back in the Rhone-Alpes. The Rhone-Alpes extends from the snowfields of the Alpes to the olive groves of the Drome Valley, from the starry restaurants of Lyon to the mountain refuges and alberges (local restaurants with accommodation). It is an area that wine lovers (regions of Beaujolais and Condrieu) skiers, walkers and culture vultures will feel at home. All this amidst spectacular mountainous countryside and limestone walled gorges.
We are getting out into the countryside this time so forget the public transport; you’ll need a car!
Skiing
It’s winter in Europe and the weather in a lot of northern France is grey, wet, or damp, cold but not freezing. Awful, to be honest! But Rhone-Alpes is a great place to be in winter for the weather, which is surprisingly sunny even though it’s cold. Great for skiing. Further south in the Drome Valley heading toward the Ardeche and the quaint town of Montelimar, popular for making nougat, and then Provence the weather warms to temperatures in the teens.
Skiing in the tourists traps can be expensive in places like Chamonix and Mont Blanc. The locals mostly avoids these places and go to local resorts where you can ski amazing areas on a budget. France offers over 120 pistes (trails) for all levels of expertise. Family friendly, local ski stations can get you a ski pass for as little as €19 for a full day skiing on runs that overlook Mont Blanc.
Two places I would recommend for the skiing holiday are near the Grenoble / Chambery region. They are Autrans and Aillons-Margériaz. Both are budget, local destinations where accommodation is often in “Gites” (registered homestay accommodation) and small hotels and residences. The French ski here so you are not competing with busloads of foreigners who take up space and increase the prices, while decreasing the standard of food and accomodation!
Check out the ski-information site for information on the various stations in the northern region. Another great site is the France Mountains site which lists all the stations details.
Also check out this article: The 10 Best Ski Resorts In France
Autrans
To get there, you cut up into the mountains near Grenoble. Situated 10 km west of Grenoble the trip up to the town is worth it just for the views you will drive through the almost sheer granite cliff on to the high plain. Once on this plain, you will go through gorgeous gorges and countryside with the ever present Mont Blanc seemingly overlooking its domain.
We love Autrans and have been there many times. As you enter the town, you will see the slope and jumping platform used in the 1968 Olympics. We spent hours here looking at the daredevils practicing their takeoffs and landings, in preparation for a jump off a granite cliff with a parachute attached to their backs.
The town itself is quaint with restaurants and shops, including ski hire shops, that service the locals, and hotels for the visitors. Just out of the town, along the valley is the ski station. The altitude of the station is from 1050 m. to 1710 m., with 30 km of “pistes” (trails) open from December 1st to the last weekend in March, depending on snowfall. There is 18 km of trails for “Alpin” (downhill) skiers 3 blue, 6 green, 5 red and 2 black. Plus a further 90km available for Nordic skiing and 70 km walking tracks. It’s an ideal resort for first-time skiers or family skiing.
If you get bored with Autrans, you can travel a further 25 minutes to the VILLARD DE LANS / CORRENCONstation with its 235 k m of trails across 3 interconnected mountains!
Both stations have nordic skiing with reasonable ski lift rates.
Aillons-Margériaz
This is a gorgeous place to ski and probably more suitable for competent skiers. It is at a higher altitude and usually has lots of snow because of the prevailing winds and high precipitation plus colder temperatures. If it isn’t a great season in France, Aillons-Margériazis is likely to have snow! High in the mountain above Chambery, this station is bigger than Autrans with spectacular views across the valley to Mont Blanc. The station is across 2 locations at an altitude of 1000 m. to 1900 m., open from the week before Christmas to the end of the 1st weekend in April. There are 39km of trails for the downhill skier; 22 blue, 8 green, 6 red and 4 black. Plus a further 43km available for Nordic skiing and 3 km walking tracks.
Aillons-Margériaz has other sports than just skiing in winter. Fantastic, exciting fun for children above 8-year-olds, teenagers and adults are the Tyrollean courses for approximately €20 per person. You will alternate passages overhang above the slopes and zigzags in the forest without setting foot on land! A team of professionals, will show you individually, independently and safely from Tyrolean to Tyrolean. The course includes: 18 zip-lines , 23 workshops (gateways wave, observation points, monkey bridges, nets, logs …), 17 scales and 1 small base jump (secure).
Year round you can visit a dog training facility for sledding dogs. Obviously, winter is the highlight with dogs doing sledding races.
But if you’re into horses why not try Ski Joëring at the local equestrian centre, where a horse will drag you along on skis! Forty-minute, basic courses start at 1.30pm daily for the adventurous! The activity is open from 9 am to 7 pm daily.
Finally, for the exceptionally brave, or mad (in my opinion) you can go caving (Spéléologie) in the region. Because of all the granite and limestone in the area there you can descend into the bowels of the earth. Harnessed, like a true caver, and guided by certified cavers, you will gradually penetrate to the underground to the rivers. You can go down waterfalls. For experienced “cavers”, you can explore the deepest abyss of Savoie and enter the largest underground room in the area. The mountain of Margeriaz has 371 cavities for more than 79 km of tunnels going down to 817m underground. This massive caving has the most developed network in Savoy.
Hauterives
On the other side of the Rhone-Alpes, 24km north of Romans-sur-sere is the Palais Ideal at Hauterives. Inspired by foreign postcards of camels and Buddhist and Hindu temples and just other random animals/turrets/people, this weird oddity is an amazing sight that will keep you amused for hours. Built by the local mailman between 1879 and 1912 using stones he collected on his route, it took 10,000 days, 93,000hours, and 33 years to build. The “palace” creation that jumbles together oriental architectures. It is comprised of multiple folklore/religious/mythical theme (Hinduism, Christianity, Pagan, Egyptian, etc.) all mashed together by a man’s imagination in the one incredible building!
Well worth a visit!
Nyon
Nearly two hours south of Hauterives is Nyon, in the southern Drome Valley. Nestling in the mountains, with its hills and valleys, Nyon enjoys a microclimate characterised by gentleness, the sunshine and no wind. Its outstanding geographical location between mountain and plain, protected by a ring of hills, is coupled with a very strong sunshine (2798 hours per year against 1773 in Paris) and a warmer temperature, which earned it the title of “Petit Nice”.
Close to Provence, Nyon is in the heart of olive oil country, and there are various moulins (mills) that you can visit to taste and buy the delicious olives and olive oil. Indeed, its olive oil is considered to be amongst the best in France.
Also, in this town is a lavender distillery which you can smell from down the street. Other products produced in the area include Côtes du Rhône Sud wine, apricots, peaches, truffles and cherries.
It is also a historic town with a fabulous arched bridge crossing the river and winding streets up to the chateau and cathedral. They have a great Sunday market and its the perfect place to jump off our next weeks blog post in Provence!
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