Lake Geneva to the Med Grande Route De Alpes

Timoshenko

Guest
Hi everyone, been a while and I got me deleted :eek: Planning a trip from Lake Geneva down to the Med via lots of ups and downs and twisty bits called the "Grande Route De Alpes" and then back up a part of the Route Napoleon, Has any one out there done it or close to it, if so any hints on accommodation or general advice? all help gratefully accepted. :beer:

Hope to travel on the Hull Ferry from there on who knows? :nenau
 
I`ve done something similar only one way from the Gorge du Verdons & Gorge du Daluis north following the route de Napoleon and the Route de Cretes with side trips to the Chateau de Ville Vieille and over the Col de Larch into Italy. Then Briancon, Valloire, and Annecy then round Lake Geneva.
We went in June and accomodation was plentyful and good staying mostly in small family run hotels (Logis de France mainly)
 
I did pretty much the exact route a few weeks back. Went down to Thonon for the start of the RDGA, down through that route and then up the route Napoleon, turning off to do the gorges du verdon loop, then up to parc vercors. An incredible trip with stunning roads and scenery, especially as some of the passes had been resurfaced.

Stayed in a superb hotel up at the col de Aravis - take a look at my write up for more info and pics - search posts by bateman - it was only a few weeks ago.
 
Including travel to and from Le Havre, I only had 5 days, so it was done at a fair pace. Left each morning by 9.30am, stopped at the top of every pass for a break and to admire the views, stopped for petrol where necessary and stopped for 30-60 mins for lunch. We rode each day until about 7pm. I would have liked another 1 day so that I could have gone all the way down to Menton. On the last day we rode up through the Parc Vercors and came out at Grenoble. From there it was a blast for 200 miles up the A6, stopping for the night at a Formule 1 on one of the service stations 110 or so miles north of Lyon. On day 5, we left the motel about 8.30 am and got into Le Havre mid afternoon.

I'll try and finish the rest of my trip report off which i think completes the last day or two.

Last yr I did "around" Mont Blanc and the Andermatt area, but enjoyed this trip more - the scenery was better and the roads were superb. napoleon route was busy and a little unsettling at times given the speed of some cars, though I didn't complete all of that.
 
many thanks, feck it, i'll take a week and dip in the med.
nice report i'll take sum photies.
Tim :thumb
 
Hi Timoshenko,
I am doing this route in 2/52 time - inspired by the suggestions of others like Bateman. We will be taking eight days over the whole thing to allow time for some sightseeing as well - e.g. going through Mulhouse on the way down to see the Schlumpf museum, etc. Taking 2 days from Zeebrugge through Nancy to Thonon, 3 days to do the RDGA then 3 days back up from the med to Zeebrugge via Grenoble and Troyes. I have found some good looking hotels - happy to pass on any details if you need them.
Peter Burnett
 
Hi Peter, tried to pm you to no avail also tried email, again no go, can u email me, hoping to do this trip during August, with neighbour and take about a week.

Tim
 
Tres bien

If you follow the Route des Grandes Alpes as in http://www.routedesgrandesalpes.com/pages/home/index.php then you can't go far wrong. Most of the great Cols are in there. You can do some others, but to be honest, if you've only got a limited time, it's a good route and pretty well signposted all the way down with the brown signs similar to those which indicate tourist attractions in the UK.
If you're going to stay anywhere around Geneva, I can't recommend Annecy enough. Great little town centre in the old bit near the Chateau with good bars (especially the Captain Pub) and a great choice of restaurants. There's also a great kebab shop, I can send you the details if you're interested. From Annecy, there's a great ride back to Val d'Isere which I put picutres of in the "show us yours" section. From Col de l'Iseran, just follow the Grandes Alpes down over Izoard, Vars, Bonette, Turini etc, all the way down to the Med. Only bummer in August is the amount of tourist traffic, and the bloody heat (38C yesterday). If you need any more info, feel free to ask...

Bon voyage.../Rob
 
End June went down Route Napolean, back up Route Grandes Alpes. Fab - could have had a video running all day for 7 days and it would be worthwhile viewing. B.A utiful views and sunny all and every day - well worth the trip.

We camped 6 of 8 days.

One ace find was "Auberge du Lac" in Bauden by Lac de Sainte Croix. The Lake itself is a new reservoir and Bauden is just getting used to being a resort. The Auberge was good value, friendly and we had a super view. NOT recommended if you are allergic to cats!!

One memorable route was through valley up to Col D'Iseran and over to Val D'Isere, but all the valleys are picture-scew. At one point we were overtaken going down the Col Bonneville by a push cyclist going a GPS confirmed 55mph! :confused:
I have Mapsource routes if you would like. The GSA was excellent for the trip and the tyre side walls had a good work out.
 
Hi Tim,
Sorry you can't get through to me - like many others I seem to have suddenly lost my sponsor status. Please feel free to ring me - I am in the York phone book - I live in Lilling.
Peter
 
Hi Tim, really like to hear from you as we may be over there at the same sort of time. Try e-mailing me at drpburnett@aol.com
 
Yorkie, as you are going in August, did you know this is the French national holiday? All the factories shut for August, so it will be busy.
 
John Stenhouse said:
Yorkie, as you are going in August, did you know this is the French national holiday? All the factories shut for August, so it will be busy.
Click to expand...
Thanks John,
yes we did know - one of our group can only get away for that week. We have all hotels booked - which would have been the main concern. However, the roads may well be busy - and we will just have to cope with that as best we can.

Regards,
peter
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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