The Tour de France is the world’s greatest cycling race. The 112^th race takes place from Saturday July 5, 2025. It starts in Lille, in the Nord region and ends on Sunday July 27, 2025 in Paris.

The Tour de France attracts over 12 million spectators a year lining the roads. 3.5 million TV viewers in 190 countries tune in on a typical day’s coverage. I love watching it, as much for its high drama as for the glorious views of the French countryside both from the road and from helicopters and drones high above the race.

Founded in 1903 by Henri Desgrange, the editor of L’Auto newspaper, it’s the third biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and the FiFa World Cup.

The Tour de France 2025

The Tour de France is gruelling, exciting and dramatic. Discover the main stages, riders, facts, distances and some fun facts in this guide to the Tour de France 2024 – the 111th race.

The Tour de France 2025 Stages

The 2025 Tour de France is made up of 21 stages. It covers a total distance of 3,320 kilometers (2,063 miles).

The route includes eight flat stages for the sprinters, seven mountain stages (with 4 summit finishes at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pl d’Adet, Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000, Col de la Couillole), 4 hilly stages, 2 time trials and 2 rest days.

Out of a total of 39 towns, these are the ones appearing for the first time: Lauwin-Planque, Bayeux, Chinon, Ennezat, Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, Bollène, Vif, and Mantes-la-Ville.

The Tour de France 2025 Route

In 2024, the great British cyclist from the Isle of Man won his 35th title. In homage to the now-retired British sprinter’s Tour de France stage wins, Châteauroux unofficially becomes ‘Cavendish City’. Châteauroux saw three of his wins. The town hosts a Tour de France finish for a fifth time on Monday July 13.

Teams for the Tour de France 2025

There are eight riders in each of the 22 teams. In total (and in theory as there are sometimes very last-minute drop-outs due to injury or illness), 176 riders will take part.

Tour de France 2025 Official Teams and Riders

Here are the teams. The nationality of the team and the riders is in parentheses after every name. But last-minute changes might occur!

Alpecin-Deceuninck (Belgium): Mathieu van der Poel (NED); Jasper Philipsen (BEL); Sylvan Diller (SUI); Kaden Groves (AUS); Xandro Merurisse (BEL);  Jonas Rickaert (BEL); Gianni Vermeersch (BEL); Emil Verstrynge (BEL)

Arkéa B&B Hotels (France): Amaury Capiot (BEL); Ewen Costiou (BEL); Arnaud Démare (FRA);  Raoul Garcia Pierna (SPA); Matisse Le Berre (BEL); Cristian Rodriguez (SPA) Kévin Vauquelin (FRA); Clement Venturini (BEL)

XDS Astana Qazaqstan (Kazakstan):  Davide Ballerini (ITA); Cees Bol (NED); Clément Champoussin (FRA); Yeveniy Fedorov (KAZ); Sergio Higuita (COL); Harold Tejada (COL); Mike Teunissen (NEL); Simone Belasco (ITA)

Bahrain Victorious (Bahrain): Phil Bauhaus (GER);  Santiago Buittrago (COL); Jack Haig (AUS); Kamil Gradek (POL): Lenny Martinez (FRA); Matej Mohoric (SLOVENIA); Robert Stannard (AUS) Fred Wright (GBR); 

Red Bull – BRORA – hansgrohe (Germany): Florian Lipowitz (GER); Jordi Meeus (BEL);  Gianni Moscon (ITA);  Laurence Pithie (NZ) Primoz Roglič (SLO);  Mick Van Dijke (NEL); Danny van Poppel (NED); Alexsandr Blasov (RUS) 

Cofidis (France):  Alex Aranburu (SPA); Bryan Coquard (FRA); Emanuel Buchmann (GER); Ion Izaguirre (SPA); Alexis Renard (FRA); Dylan Teuns (BEL); Benjamin Thomas (FRA); Damien Touzé (FRA)

 Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale (France): Bruno Armirail (FRA); Clement Berthet (FRA); Stefan Bissegger (SYU); Felix Gall (AUT); Oliver Naesen (BEL); Aurelien Paret-Peintre (FRA); Callum Scotson (AUS);  Bastien Tronchon (FRA)

Team Picnic PostNL (Netherlands):  Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN); Warren Barguil (FRA); Pavel Bittner (CZE); Sean Flynn (GBR); Niklas Märkl (GER); Tim Naberman (NEL); Oscar Olney (GBR); Frank van den Broek (NED) 

EF Education – Easypost (USA): Vincenzo Albanese (ITA); Kasper Asgreen (DEN); Alex Baudin (FRA); Ben Healy (IRE); Harry Sweeny (AUS); Neilson Powless (USA);  Michael Valgren (DEN); Marijn Van den Berg (NEL)

Groupama–FDJ (France): Lewis Askey (GBR); Cyril Barthe (FRA); Romain Gregoire (FRA); Valentin Madouas (FRA); Guillaume Martin (FRA); Quentin Pacher (FRA); Paul Penhoët (FRA); Clément Russo (FRA)

Ineos Grenadiers (Great Britain): Thymen Arensman (NED); Tobias Foss (NOR); Filippo Ganna (ITA); Axel Laurance (FRA); Ben Swift (GBR); Connor Swift (GBR); Samuel Watson (GBR); Geraint Thomas (GBR)

Intermarché-Wanty (Belgium): Louis Barée (FRA); Vito Braet (BEL); Biniam Girmay (ERITREA); Hugo Page (FRA); Laurenz Rex (BEL); Jonas Rutsch (GER); Roel Van Sintmaartensdijk (BEL); Georg Zimmerman (GER)

Israel-PremierTech (Israel): Pascal Ackermann (GER); Joseph Blackmore (GBR); Guillaume Boivin (CAN); Mats Louvel (FRA); Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ); Krists Neilands (LAT); Jake Stewart (GBR); Michael Woods (CAN)

Jayco AlUla (Australia): Eddie Dunbar (IRE); Luke Durbridge (AUS); Dylan Groenewegen (NED); Luka Mezgec (SLO); Ben O’Connor (AUS); Luke Plapp (AUS); Elmer Reinders (BEL); Mauro Schmid (SUI)

Lidl-Trek (USA): Simone Consonni (ITA); Jonathan Milan (ITA); Thibaut Nys (Bel); Jasper Stuyven (BEL); Quinn Simmons (USA); Mattias Skjelmose (DEN); Toms Skujins (LAT); Edward Theuns (BEL)

Lotto-Destny (Belgium):  Jasper De Buyst (BEL); Arnaud De Lie (BEL); Jenno Berckmoes (BEL); Jarrad Drizners (AUS); Sébastien Grignard (BEL); Eduardo Sepulveda (ARG); Lennert Van Eetvelt (BEL); Brent Van Moer (BEL)

Movistar (Spain): Will Barta (USA); Pablo Castrillo (SP); Ivan Garcia Cortina (SP); Enric Mas (SPA);  Gregor Mühlberger (AUS); Nelson Oliveira (POR); Ivan Romeo (SP); Einer Rubio (COL)

Soudal Quickstep (Belgium): Mattia Cattaneo (ITA); Pascal Eenkhoorn (NED); Remco Evenpoel (BEL); Tim Merlier (BEL); Valentin Paret-Peintre (FRA); Maximilian Schachmann (GER); Bert Van Lerberghe (BEL); Ilan Van Wilder (BEL)

TotalEnergies (FRA): Mathieu Burgaudeau (FRA); Steff Crass (BEL); Alexandre Delettre (FRA); Thomas Gachignard (FRA);  Emilien Jeanniere (FRA); Jordan Jegat (FRA); Anthony Turgis (FRA); Matteo Vercher (FRA)

Tudor Pro Cycling Team (SUI): Julian Alaphilippe (FRA); Alberto Dainese (ITA); Marco Haller (AUT); Marc Hirschi (SUI); Fabian Leinhard (SUI); Marius Mayrhofer (GER); Michael Storer (AUS); Matteo Trintin (ITA)

UAE Team Emirates (UAE): Tadej Pogačar (SL); João Almeida (POR); Stian Fredheim (NOR);  Jonathan Narvaez (ECU); Nils Politt (GER); Pavel Sivakov (FRA);  Marc Soler (SPA);  Tim Wellens (BEL);  Adam Yates (GBR) 

UNO-X Mobility (Norway): Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR); Magnus Cort (DEN); Alexander Kristoff (NOR); Markus Hoelgaard (NOR); Anders Halland Johannessen (NOR); Tobias Halland Johannessen (NOR); Andreas Leknessund (NOR); Søren Wætrnskold (NOR); 

Visma Lease a Bike (Netherlands): Edoardo Affini (ITA); Tiesj Benoot (BEL); Victor Campenaerts (BEL); Sepp Kuss (USA); Jonas Vingegaard (DEN); Wout Van Aert (BEL);   Matteo Jorgenssen (USA); Simon Yates (GBR)

British Cyclists

There are 10 British cyclists in the Tour de France 2025: Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious); Sean Flynn & Oscar Olney (Team PostNL); Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ); Ben Swift; Connor Swift; Samuel Watson; Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers); Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates); Simon Yates (Visma Lease a Bike).

Australian Cyclists

There are 11 Australian cyclists in the Tour de France 2025: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck); Jack Haig & Robert Stannard (Bahrain Victorious); Callum Scotson  (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale); Harry Sweeney (EF Education – Easypost); Luke Durbridge, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla); Jarrad Drizners (Lotto-Destny); Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team).

North American Cyclists

The Americans have three riders in the Tour de France 2024: Neilson Powless  (EF Education-Easypost); Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike); Sean Quinn (EF Education Easypost).

Winners and Losers in the Tour de France

Previous winners

2024 Tadej Pogačar
2023 Jonas Vingegaard 
2022 Jonas Vingegaard 
2021 Tadej Pogačar
2020 Tadej Pogačar
2019 Egan Bernal
2018 Geraint Thomas
2017 Chris Froome
2016 Chris Froome
2015 Chris Froome
2014 Vincenzo Nibali
2013 Chris Froome
2012 Bradley Wiggins
2011 Cadel Evans
2010 Andy Schleck

Five riders have managed to win the Tour five times:
Jacques Anquetil (France) 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964
Eddy Merckx (Belgium) 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974
Bernard Hinault (France) 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985
Miguel Induráin (Spain) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995
Chris Froome (GB) 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017

Three riders have won three times:
Philippe Thys (Belgium) 1913, 1914, 1920
Louison Bobet (France), 1953, 1054, 1955
Greg Lemond (USA) 1986, 1989, 1990

The record number of wins ever was seven by Lance Armstrong of the United States (1999-2005). But after being found guilty of doping by the USADA in 2012, he was stripped of all of these titles.

Other disqualifications after the winner has been caught out:
In 1904 the winner, Maurice Garin, was stripped of his title after it was discovered that he had caught a train for part of the event
In 2006 Floyd Landis of the United States was found to have raised testosterone levels
In 2010 Alberto Contador was stripped of the win after investigations into his drug use.

And what about…

How do riders in the Tour de France pee? This seems to be a popular question which makes sense. A cyclist can just stop to pee, if possible making sure they are fairly far to the front.
The usual convention is when the leader (rider in the yellow jersey) decides where a pee spot will be, preferably in a remote part of the race. The TV cameras do not film them and riders are not allowed to take advantage of this to improve their position. Sounds very fair to me!

What the jerseys mean and prize money

A total of over 2.3 million Euros will be awarded overall, including €500,000 to the overall winner of each individual classification.

The Yellow Jersey (maillot jaune) is the overall winner of the race up to that point, awarded after each stage.
The Green Jersey is for the best sprinter. Points are awarded at the finish of each stage, and for an intermediate sprint in all normal stages.

Here’s the official website for the Tour de France 2025
Cycling News has excellent up-to-date information on the Tour de France 2025 (and is good on cycling generally). Procycling news is another good source.

Here’s the Le Tour Facebook link
Instagram link
Twitter link

Major events in July 2025 in France

More geographic information about France

More about the regions of France
More about the departments of France
More about the mountains of France

The post Guide to the Tour de France 2025 appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

By Fiona Quinn, guest writer

Isère’s parks and mountains are the envy of France. In the south east of the country, this spectacular Alpine area is a summer and winter playground.

Isère’s mountains are just right for lovers of the outdoor life. The landscape has mountains, high plateaux where livestock graze, glaciers, deep river valleys and trails for hiking and cycling, skiing and swimming.

With 23 ski resorts, 1,029 kilometres of slopes and 293 ski lifts, Isère is France’s third largest ski region after neighboring Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

Four mountain ranges make up the parks: Oisans which is part of Ecrins and was France’s first National Park, and three Regional Natural Parks: Belledonne, Chartreuse and Vercors.
Discover more from the Isère Tourism website.

Ecrins National Park and Oisans Mountains

South eastern Isère is mostly made up of the grand Oisans massif mountain range and part of Ecrins National Park with its 100 peaks and four glaciers. Established in 1973, Ecrins was the first of France’s nine National Parks.

Ski Resorts in Oisans

The Oisans is the area for the best known ski resorts in Isère. Alpe d’Huez is famous for its 21 hairpin bends and the longest piste in Europe; Les Deux Alpes has the largest skiable glacier for thrill seekers. Both are above 2,000 m/6,562 ft.

For families and the less ambitious, there are plenty of smaller village ski resorts. Choose from Auris-en-Oisans, Vaujany, Villard-Reculas,  Oz-en-Oisans,  L’Alpe du Grand-Serre, Col d’Ornon and Les Signaraux.

Summer in Ecrins National Park and Oisans Mountains

In summer, take to the mountain bike trails, hike or horse ride through the alpine meadows where ibex, marmots and chamois roam. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch sight of the golden eagle, the emblem of the park soaring high above you.

The GR5, Europe’s premier walking trail passes through the Ecrins; as does one of the Via Alpina routes from north to south.

Many of the legendary passes of the Tour de France are here in the Oisans. Truly enthusiastic cyclists can try their luck on Glandon (1,918 m/6,292 ft), Télégraphe (1,568 m/5,144 ft), Galibier (2,642 m/8,667 ft) and La Croix de Fer (2,068 m/6,785 ft).

Chartreuse Regional Natural Park

The Chartreuse Regional Natural Park is north of Grenoble between Isère and Savoie. It’s a beautiful protected area of land with 52 villages inside the park.

Like all the other natural parks, its wildlife is legendary. But Chartreuse has the distinction of containing nearly half of all the mammal and bird species in France so take a pair of binoculars and stout walking shoes with you.

It’s probably most famous for the Grande Chartreuse Monastery, founded in the 11^th century by St Bruno and the head monastery of the Carthusian monks. The impressive complex of buildings where Chartreuse liqueur was first created is in the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse.

You can walk up to the impressive site and enter the ‘Desert of Silence’ for the view. You can’t visit the monastery which is still occupied by monks, but you can visit the Museum nearby.

Winter ski resorts in Chartreuse

The major ski resorts are located around Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse. Take the ski lifts up to slopes that suit children and families. There are some more challenging slopes but most Chartreuse ski resorts are slightly lower than those in the rest of Isère. They include Col de Marcieu, Coeur de Chartreuse, La Ruchère, Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, Saint-Hilaire-du-Touvet.

Nearby Col de Porte is 1,326 m/4,350 miles above sea level, attracting skiers and snowboarders.

Summer in Chartreuse

The Col de Porte makes a tough mountain climb for cyclists. It featured in the Critérium du Dauphiné cycle race – a precursor to the Tour de France.

Explore the Grésivaudan valley which sits surrounded by the great mountains of the Chartreuse to the west. Worth a visit is the small Château du Touvet, built to protect against the Dukes of Savoy. Its ‘Remarkable Gardens’ are typically French with their terraces and small walled gardens, though the Italian-style water staircase is a unique feature in France.

Belledonne Regional Natural Park and Massif

The Belledonne Regional Natural Park is north east of Grenoble.  With peaks over 2,500 m, the strikingly rugged and wild mountain range has few visitors.

Winter in Belledonne

Belledonne is a favorite place for local skiers from Grenoble  Its highest peak, the Grand Pic de Belledonne, reaches 2,977 m/9767 ft with 250 kms/155 miles of slopes.

The small ski resort of Le Collet d’Allevard that sits above the valley was the training ground for the 1968 Olympics. Today it’s geared up for families and also offers 8 pistes specially lit up for night skiing.

Two of Isère’s most popular winter sports resorts, Chamrousse and Les Sept-Laux, are in the Belledonne massif. With 90km of pistes, Chamrousse – the closest resort to Grenoble – includes the famous ‘Casserousse’, where French ski legend Jean-Claude Killy won the Olympic gold medal in 1968. It’s one of only seven resorts in France accredited as Flocon Vert, guaranteeing a commitment to sustainability.

Les 7 Laux, made up of three pretty villages, is particularly good for cross-country skiing with plenty of easily accessible off-piste routes through the trees. Col du Barioz is the best place for nordic skiers.

Summer in Belledonne

Belledonne is known for its spas in the Pays d’Allevard valley. The colourful spa town of Allevard-les-Bains has some of the most sulphur-laden waters in the world.

Les 7 Laux area blossoms in summer when it becomes home to the Espace Bel’Velec. This collection of 8 different cross-country mountain bike trails covers 111 kms/69 miles and a variety of slopes linking villages to Prapoutel-Pipay.
Check the Les 7 Laux website for all information.

Vercors Regional Natural Park

To the south of Grenoble, the Vercors Regional Natural Park spans both the Isère and neighbouring Drôme departments. Created in 1970, much of the landscape is white limestone with river gorges. Vertical rocky cliffs and distinctive peaks or ‘needles’ like the distinctive flat-topped Mont Aiguille. Described as one of the seven wonders of Dauphiné, the 2,085 m/6840 ft peak looms over the rivers.

Vercors is the place for animal lovers. Take binoculars and you might spot some of the 135 nesting birds and possibly a golden eagle or two. Or keep your eyes open for the chamois, red deer, roe deer, mouflon (mountain sheep), wild boar and ibex that freely roam the mountainous countryside.

The Vercors is known for dizzying balcony roads cut into the edge of the rocky cliffs with steep drops in places. The Gorges de la Bourne winds along the canyon created by the Bourne River. The Route de Presles is a narrow, tricky 7-km road with plenty of open tunnels and passages hewn out of the cliff face.

Pont-en-Royans is one of the more famous villages where colourful 16th-century houses cling to a ledge of the rock face over the Bourne river below.

Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte ski resort in summer is a popular climb on the Tour de France, while many stages have finished in the resort of Villard-de-Lans – Corrençon-en-Vercors.

Winter in Vercors

The main ski resort in Vercors is Autrans – Méaudre-en-Vercors. Every year thousands gather in January for La Foulée Blanche festival of nordic skiing which features a long distance nordic ski race.

Other resorts in the Vercors include: Col de l’Arzelier, Col de Romeyère – Les Coulmes; Gresse-en-Vercors and Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte.

Near Vercors National Park

To the south of Grenoble, on the edge of the Vercors Natural Regional Park, the Château at the Domaine de Vizille is one of the most prestigious castles in the Dauphiné region. The Domaine parkland with its exquisite gardens, a deer park and ornamental lake is classified as a “Remarkable Garden”. Tour the Museum of the French Revolution for an insight into that incredible period when France changed for ever.

Isère’s parks, mountains and in winter, its ski resorts make for a part of France that is worth visiting all year round.

Read more about Isère here: how to get there, main attractions, cities and villages plus food and drink.

More about the 7 great mountain ranges of France.

About guest writer, Fiona Quinn

Fiona Quinn is a francophile travel writer and editor. She’s lived in France on and off during the past 30 years, including as a student in Paris, ski saisonnaire in Savoie and Haute Savoie, and a home-owner in sunflower-filled Charente. 
Check out her website.

The post Isère’s Parks and Mountains appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Isère by guest writer Fiona Quinn

How much do you know about Isère? I would guess it’s less than Provence or the Dordogne. But it’s an impressive part of the country so I hope this call to visit Isère will get you planning a trip. Summer or winter, Isère is a year-round destination.

If you do know about Isère it will be for its mountains and ski resorts (Alpe d’Huez and les Deux Alpes are world famous). But it’s also a summer playground where the natural parks offer a get-away-from-it-all experience. And it’s also the part of France where some of the world’s toughest cycle races have been won – and lost – on its precipitous mountain passes.  

Isère has great cities, pretty medieval villages and spa towns. It’s the place to hike or cycle, swim in the clean waters of mountain lakes and explore the wildlife. Even in the height of summer, there’s space for everyone.
Discover more from the Isère Tourism website.

Isère – A Short Introduction

Isère’s Location

Isère is the second largest département in the Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes region. Named after the Isère river, it’s part of the historic province of Dauphiné which consisted of Isère, the Drôme and Hautes-Alpes until it was acquired by the King of France in 1349. It extends from the banks of the River Rhône to the summits of the French Alps and takes in the historic cities of Grenoble and Vienne.

Isère also includes four mountain ranges that make up its spectacular natural parks of Belledonne, Chartreuse, Vercors and Écrins.

Nature’s Playgrounds

Isère’s mountains are one of the big draws, appealing to lovers of the great outdoors.

In winter, snow-sports take priority. With a range of 23 ski resorts, Isère is France’s third largest ski region after Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

But come summer, when the snows have melted, a vast open-air landscape reveals itself with intense blue lakes and alpine meadows covered in flowers. Cities, towns and villages offer festivals which range from those celebrating the rich terrain and the food to sporting events that showcase the magnificent landscape.

Sports in Isère

The extensive mountain scenery makes Isère a perfect place to stretch your legs – either hiking or trail running. If you’re really keen on the pastoral life, hike between the mountain refuges that dot the landscape.

Or take to the waters; Isère’s lakes and rivers make for great sailing, white water rafting and canyoning.

And don’t forget winter and its snow-sports.

Cycling in Isère

Isère attracts cyclists of all abilities and types with a network of routes that cover more than 1,000 kms/621 miles. The famous Tour de France cycle race showcases some of France’s toughest climbs, and thousands of amateur cyclists flock to the winding mountain passes to test out the thigh-busting routes, like the legendary Alpe d’Huez climb with its 21 hairpin bends. The less ambitious can hire hydro-electric bikes.

Visit Isère but which part?

The northern borders of Isère, surrounded by parts of Greater Lyon, follow the Rhône river. Here the land is flatter with steep slopes along the Rhône valley where vineyards flourish.

Central Isère, Grenoble and parts of north eastern Isère encompass the Chartreuse and Belledonne mountains and regional parks.

Southern Isère is the more mountainous region. The southeast part of Isère, which neighbours Savoie, lies within the French Alps. The Oisans area covers parts of the massifs of Taillefer, Grandes Rousses, Arves and Écrins with the Ecrins National Park furthest south.

Isère’s southwestern border is the Drôme, where the Vercors massif mountains feature heavily with their dramatic, undulating steep cliffs and valleys. This part is particularly popular with cyclists.

Isère’s Major Cities and Towns

Cosmopolitan Grenoble

Grenoble, popularly known as the ‘Capital of the Alps’ is the capital of Isère. Its position is fantastic, between the Drac and Isère rivers and surrounded on either side by the mountain regions of Chartreuse to the northeast and Vercors to the southwest.

A famous university city, and the cultural heart of Isère, Grenoble attracts high-tech industries. It all makes for a lively city, with bars and restaurants filling the maze of streets where medieval and modern buildings mix happily.

The old town is fascinating with museums ranging from the Musée de Grenoble which has one of the best art collections in France to the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l’Isère, telling the story of one of the major centres of the Resistance in France during World War II.

The standout attraction is the 18th-century fortress of La Bastille with its spectacular, panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Getting there is equally as exciting. Take the téléphérique cable car from the centre of the city where  spherical gondolas – called ‘Les Bulles’ or bubbles – whisk you up the 263 m/826 ft to La Bastille.

Worth checking out is the new Champollion museum in Vif near Grenoble. It’s one of the major events of 2021. Set in the Champollion family home, it’s dedicated to the 19th-century quest and obsession with Egypt.

Roman Vienne

The river Rhône runs through the historic city of Vienne linking it to Lyon to the north and down to the south of France.

Vienne was a major Roman city, the vital port for wine and other goods. Roman monuments are scattered all around the city from the Temple of Augustus and Livia built by Emperor Claudius (a smaller version of Nîmes famous Maison Carré) to the Roman theatre, the garden of Cybele, remnants of ramparts and aqueducts.

The Pyramid is the only part left of the old Roman circus which once throbbed to the shouts of the charioteers and gladiators. Now the streets throb to the sound of the Jazz à Vienne Festival, held most years in the first two weeks of July, with some performances held in the 1st-century Roman Theatre.

From Vienne to…Voiron

To the east of Vienne, between Lyon and Grenoble, the Pays Voironnais surrounds the town of Voiron. The sparkling 6 km/3.7 mile long Lake Paladru is one of Isère’s great lakes and the fifth largest natural lake in France. You can swim in the turquoise-clear mountain waters, hire a sailboat, rowing boat, kayak, paddleboard or idle away a few hours waiting for fish. Walk or cycle along the 7 km/4.3 mile greenway that runs along its shores, connecting the beaches and villages from Paladru to Charavines.

Voiron

In Voiron one of the main attractions is the Chartreuse Cellars where Chartreuse liqueur is manufactured. Guided tours in French or English show you the equipment and stills of the longest liqueur cellar in the world. The tour finishes, of course, with a sip or two of the green-coloured alcoholic beverage.

Isère’s Historic Villages

Medieval Crémieu

The medieval village of Crémieu sits in the far north-west of Isère and 40 kms/25 miles due east of Lyon. Surrounded by 14th-century ramparts and defensive towers, the streets of this town with half-timbered houses come alive on Wednesdays with a weekly market held in its 15th-century marketplace.

If you’re visiting in September, take in Crémieu for its spectacular Medieval Festival.

Saint-Antoine-l’Abbaye

Saint-Antoine-l’Abbaye, 62kms/38 miles west of Grenoble, is one of France’s Most Beautiful Villages. Once a staging post on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, the village is dominated by the all-important abbey church.

The building dates from the 13^th to the 15^th centuries, its entrance is a grand Gothic portal. It’s huge: 62 m/203 ft long with 17 chapels running off the main nave and altar.

Its fame lay in its possession of the relics of the 3^rd century St Anthony of Egypt. He was the first monk and hermit in the history of Christianity, giving his name to the now defunct Antonine order of monks whose purpose was to look after the sick.

Pont-en-Royans

A little further south and on the other side of the Isère river, Pont-en-Royans sits at the gateway to the Vercors Natural Park. Centuries-old houses seem suspended on a ledge of rock over the Bourne river.

The Parks of Isère

For many, the parks of Isère are the main reason to visit summer and winter.

Four mountain ranges of Isère make up the spectacular natural parks. Oisans is part of Ecrins Park in Oisans, which was created in 1973 as the first of the nine National Parks in France. The three other are Regional Natural Parks: Belledonne, Chartreuse and Vercors.

There’s fabulous skiing in all of these parks with resorts running from the world-famous to small village resorts. Summer brings hikers, cyclists, bird watchers, horse riders; the lakes offer swimming and water sports.

Read more about Isère’s parks, mountains and ski resorts here.

The Lakes of Isère

Lake Monteynard

South of Grenoble between the Vercors and Ecrins, the vast 20 km/12.4 mile Lake Monteynard was created in 1961 when the hydroelectric dam was built. Renowned for its lengthy Himalayan suspension bridges (220m and 180m long) that span high above the Drac and Ebron rivers, it’s a popular spot for hikers (without a fear for heights) as well as kite surfers.

If you want a more leisurely visit, take the boat trip along the length of the lake on the La Mira boat.

Lake Laffrey

Nearby in Matheysine Lake Laffrey is the 8th biggest natural lake in France. At 900 m/2.953 ft above sea level, its cool temperatures and glistening blue mountain waters make it a perfect place for windsurfing and dinghy sailing.

The Food of Isère

Alpine influences are dominant in the hearty flavours of Isèrois produce.

All French mountain regions are famous for their cheeses, and Isère is no exception.

Two famous cheeses are produced here. Saint-Marcellin is a fairly small flat round soft cheese, becoming softer as it matures. It’s especially good served warm with bread or crackers. Le Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage is a mild blue cheese that can be used in quiches or served with salad. It goes well with light red wines such as Chatillon en Diois.

If you’re a cheese fan and want to discover more, check out the 87 routes across the region devoted to the Vélo et Fromages (bike and cheese) concept connecting farms and cheese dairies. There are two cycling itineraries in the Vercors.

The region is also famous for its big Murçon sausages, which have a slight aniseed flavour.

The area is France’s top producer of walnuts. The highly prized nuts are added to products like chocolate and brioche, beers and ravioles.

Ravioles have been a speciality of the region for centuries. These little square-shaped pasta are stuffed with cheese and parsley.

Gratin Dauphinois – creamy oven-baked potatoes – is probably one of France’s and the region’s best-known dishes, believed to date back to 1788.

Top Restaurants in Isère

While not as famous as its neighbour Lyon for gastronomy, the region has several acclaimed restaurants, including La Pyramide in Vienne, a Michelin-starred restaurant where famous chefs including Paul Bocuse trained.

Other Michelin-starred establishments in the area, specialising in refined Isérois cuisine, include Le Domaine de Clairefontaine in Chonas l’Amballan, about 10 km/6miles from Vienne, and La Table d’Uriage in a grand spa hotel 20 km/12 miles from Grenoble. And for top dining book at the 2-star Maison Aribert in Uriage les Bains which also has 5 very chic rooms in its boutique style hotel.

And as for Drinks…

Sitting on the terrace of a mountain restaurant with a Rhône Valley wine in hand makes for a perfect day in Isère. Alongside lesser-known appellations such as Château Grillet, Balmes Dauphinoises, and Côteaux du Grésivaudan, some of the region’s best-known wines include Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie, a fragrant red wine.

Côte-Rôtie vines grow on the right bank of the Rhône just south of Vienne where steep hillside vineyards bask in long hours of sunshine.

Better known outside the region is the green-coloured Chartreuse liqueur. Made by Carthusian monks to a centuries-old recipe devised and kept in the Chartreuse Monastery, this sweet drink is infused with a secret combination of 130 mountain herbs, plants and flowers.

The rise in popularity of craft breweries has brought at least twenty brewers to the region. Among these are the Brasserie du Dauphiné producing award-winning Blonde des Alpes beer; the Goodwin Brewery, making British-style craft ales, and Biere du Vercors, producing a certified organic mountain beer as well as lemonade and whisky.

The Domaine des Hautes Glaces manufactures a number of organic alpine whiskies, including Vulson White Rhino Rye, and is one of only a handful of distilleries that both grows and malts its own cereals.

In their iconic metal bottles, the popular syrups from Teisseire found throughout French supermarkets are produced in Isère at Crolles.

How to get to Isère

By Air

Grenoble Alpes Isère (GNB) serves Grenoble and many of Isère’s 23 ski resorts in less than two hours, with the smaller resorts of Villard de Lans, Corrençon, Chamrousse, Les 7 Laux, as well as Oisans and Belledonne, closer still to the airport. By opting for a resort with short transfers, savvy skiers can squeeze in extra time on the slopes.

Actibus “Navette Grenoble Aéroport” connects the airport with Grenoble bus/train station. Schedules coincide with flight arrivals and departures. The journey takes 45 minutes. Tickets must be bought in advance.

In winter, several direct shuttle services leave from the terminal taking skiers to the resorts of Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes and Chamrousse (Sat only), as well as stops in Grenoble city centre, Bourg d’Oisans and Rochetaillee to connect to other resorts in the area. Lyon Saint-Exupery(LYS) serves northwest Isère and the city of Vienne, and offers more flights to the region than Grenoble.

By train

From the UK, Eurostar trains connect via Paris to Grenoble. Paris to Grenoble trains take about 4 hours.

Other nearby stations include Saint-Marcel-Lès-Valence, Lyon Saint-Exupéry (50 minutes from Grenoble) and Lyon Part-Dieu (1hr 15mins).

By car

Travelling to Isère by car takes between 8 and 10 hours from Calais and around 5 hours 15 minutes from Paris.

Parking

In ski resorts, there are plenty of car parks where you can leave your car for the week. The average cost is around €45-70 a week.

Cross-Channel Operators

By Eurotunnel

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle operates up to 4 shuttles per hour to France taking just 35 minutes between Folkestone and Calais. All chunnel ticket prices include your car and up to 9 passengers.

By Ferry

Check out the ferry possibilities here.

More about the 7 great mountain ranges of France.

About guest writer, Fiona Quinn

Fiona Quinn is a francophile travel writer and editor. She’s lived in France on and off during the past 30 years, including as a student in Paris, ski saisonnaire in Savoie and Haute Savoie, and a home-owner in sunflower-filled Charente. 
Check out her website.

The post Visit Isère: a Year-Round Destination appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

The Loire Valley Cycle Route (La Loire à Vélo) takes you through one of the most beautiful, and easily accessible, parts of France with the breeze in your face and the river beside you. You’re really getting away from it all.

The Loire Valley Cycle Route

The 900 km/560 mile Loire Valley Cycle Route goes from the little village of Cuffy in the Cher to the coastal village of St-Brevin-les-Pins on the French Atlantic Coast.

The route passes through the Pays-de-la-Loire, the Loire Valley regions and the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park. It takes in 6 departments: the Cher, Loiret, Lore-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique.

A large part of the route lies within the UNESCO World Heritage Site along the banks of the Loire.

This huge project took more than ten years to build, and the French particularly have taken to this local, free, eco-friendly activity.

Practical Information

You’ll find all the information you need on the Loire à Vélo website. You can also pick up the information and brochures at the various tourist offices along the route.

See below for more on where to hire, stay, eat and more.

Which part of the Loire Valley Cycle Route to choose?

Unless you have a lot of time and plan extremely thoroughly (and are very fit as well), you’ll probably cycle just a part of the route.

Concentrate on one area and if you can, do that in depth. Various parts of the Loire à Vélo cycle route have devised their own mini routes leading off the main route. So different paths might take you on a meandering trail through the Loire Valley, visiting various châteaux. Another one leads you to the Sologne south of Orléans. Another is around Angers. You can take one or up to three days. That’s the joy of the Loire Valley cycle route – it can be as long or as short as you, and your legs, want it to be.

Main Loire Valley Cycle Route

Le Guétin in the Cher to Orléans

The official itinerary of the Loire à Vélo starts at Le Guétin, a suburb of Cuffy in the Cher. This first part is the wildest part of the route and at the Pont Canal in Le Guétin you can see where the Loire and the Allier join. Both rivers at this stage are small, their sources not far away.

This part takes you along the part of the Loire which is less well known to visitors. Instead of châteaux, you have delightful small towns like La Charité-sur-Loire with its monastery.

Around Sancerre and its vineyards

Around Sancerre, worth a visit for the pretty walled town above the river, vineyards stretch into the distance. If you’re on a bicycle you can stop and taste, but buying is a bit tricky. So make a note if you’re a wine lover; this part of France is well worth returning to for a different, bucolic visit. Years ago we came across Pascal Jolivet and his Clos du Roy. They used to be moderately inexpensive; now they’re around £20 a bottle so I am on the look-out for other Sancerre vineyards.

Less well-known sites

The peaceful canal runs beside the river as far as Briare which has a splendid iron Belle Epoque viaduct, the longest canal bridge in Europe.

This is a very pretty stretch of the river, taking you to Gien with its 15^th-century château overlooking the river.  

Then it’s on to Sully-sur-Loire where the delightful white-stoned château rises out of the huge moat. From here, the route takes you to St-Benoit-sur-Loire with its Romanesque Abbaye, and Châteauneuf-sur-Loire whose splendid bridge has a sound and light show in the summer.

Orléans

Orléans is a big city, best known for its association with Joan of Arc. It’s a delightful place, with Renaissance and neo-classical buildings, lots of reminders of Joan of Arc and a riverside full of bars, cafes and restaurants.

Many visitors just regard Orléans as the jumping off point for visits to the châteaux stretching along the famous river. So it has a more local feel than towns like Chartres or Blois.
Here’s a guide to Orléans, well worth a stop over.

Orléans to Tours

This is one of the most popular parts of the cycle route. This glorious region was the playground of kings and queens, dukes and duchesses. And they all built spectacular châteaux to house themselves, their lovers, their families and the huge numbers of servants who catered for their every need. And of course, to impress the King and their neigbors.

Pays des Châteaux detour

In this part of the route, you can branch off and take separate rides between some of the châteaux. Altogether there are 300 kilometers of route, but you can choose exactly how far you want to ride. Download or get the map and routes from the local tourist office or view it on line.

The route will take you to châteaux such as Chambord, the largest, and externally grandest, of all the castles in the Loire (it’s rather stiff, formal and cold inside and it was only used as a very posh hunting lodge by François I in the 16th century).

Then there are the smaller, more intimate and more attractive châteaux, like Cheverny, still in the same family.

Back on the main Orléans to Tours Route

The town of Blois is well worth a visit in its own right and is roughly half way between Orléans and Tours. For anybody interested in gardens, Chaumont-sur-Loire is a must for its summer-long huge garden festival.

Amboise makes another spectacular stop with its beautiful château slumbering on the river bank. François I installed Leonardo da Vinci in the nearby Clos Lucé for 3 years before his death; it’s full of the inventions of the great Renaissance man.

Some of the châteaux lie along other rivers that feed into the Loire, such as gracious Chenonceaux which straddles the Cher.

You’ll have been cycling through wine country as well, moving from the Loire Valley wines to the vineyards around Tours such as well-known Vouvray. Tours itself is a historic cathedral city and the chief town of the Loire Valley.

Tours to Angers

This is another delightful stretch with the Regional Park of Loire-Anjou-Touraine to the north, once-inhabited caves to the south and more châteaux along the river and its tributaries like Azay-le-Rideau on the Indre (which is my favourite) and Chinon on the Vienne river.

If you fancy seeing how our very ancient ancestors lived, there’s another bike ride in the Saumur Region taking in a specially created passage through the cave dwellings on the stretch from Chinon to Angers. The secret troglodyte should book one of the hotels here where rooms are carved out of the rock.

Fontevraud-l’Abbaye is an impressive Romanesque complex where the tombs of the Plantagenet royal family remind you of the historic bonds between England and France.  

Saumur is delightful, spreading along both banks of the Loire with a wonderful château overlooking the river.  Then it’s on to Angers, where the castle displays one of the most impressive, and chilling sights, the Tapestry of the Apocalypse. It ranks with the Bayeux Tapestry as one of the great art works of the past.

Angers to Nantes unusual sites

Charming villages line the route from Angers. Savennières has a Romanesque tower and good vineyards; Béhuard is a surprising, small island with a splendid church, former 15^th century royal home and 15^th and 16^th century houses. The chapel of the former abbey in St-Florent-le-Vieil has a splendid tomb by David d’Angers of General Bonchamps. He was the tactically adroit leader of the royalists fighting the Republicans in the Vendée during the French Revolution.

Ancenis was one of the great ports for the wine trade; Champtoceaux has a fabulous position with a panoramic view of the river.  

Then you’re in Nantes, a city that has reinvented itself very successfully. The former capital of Brittany and now in the Pays de la Loire region has an old town and a very lively arts scene. It’s famous for the extraordinary Machines de l’Ile and its different huge machines. Children love this part of the city, particularly if they get to ride (or get sprayed by) the elephant who makes his way slowly through the city. Or just try the carousel for a Jules Verne moment.

Nantes to St- Brévin-les-Pins

After Nantes you’re following the Loire to the sea. On the way you’ll see some of the extraordinary art works that were inspired by Nantes: the house in the river, and the house perched on top of a vast chimney.

All too soon you’re at the seaside resort of St-Brévin-les-Pins where the Loire Valley Cycle route ends and the Loire estuary empties into the Atlantic. It stands opposite the city of Saint-Nazaire, a naval and industrial port. It’s linked to the south bank of the river by the bridge, 60 metres tall and over 3km long.

It’s a far cry from the small river you first saw in the east.

Getting to the Loire Valley Cycle Route

Once you’re in France, the most logical way to get to your starting point is by train. You can organize rail travel, and organize space for your bicycles if you’re taking your own on Rail Europe.

Hiring a Bicycle

All major towns from the start to finish have agencies where you can hire a bike from St-Nazaire to the Cher at Saint-Satur.

You can also hire helmets and trailers. Some companies will meet you at the station or wherever you choose that is convenient so you can set off as soon as you arrive. There are also luggage transfer services so you don’t have to carry luggage with you.
Check out the possibilities here.

Cycle Repair

At every point along the route there are professional cycle repair shops. They are open long hours, offer tourist information and breakdown assistance.

Where to Stay

All along the route there are various forms of accommodation, all carrying the ‘Loire à Vélo’ label.

They include camp sites and gites, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels. They range in price from less than €50 euros more than €100 a night.  The label they carry means that they all offer helpful facilities for cyclists such as secure bicycle parking, repair kits and more. And of course fellow cyclists to chat to!

Or check out the budget hotel chains all over France for an inexpensive option.

Where to Eat

You’ll find recommendations at all points of the journey, from ginguettes beside the river (originally popular dance and drinking places that also served food, but now charming, often open-air seasonal restaurants offering local food) to station brasseries and top Michelin-starred restaurants.
Check them out here.

Helpful Hints

If you want to cycle for more than a few days, take your own bike. A friend has advised using mountain bikes with slick tyres.

Prepare yourself in advance and ride 20 to 30 kilometers a few times a week to get fit.

Travel light and carry what you need in waterproof, lightweight panniers.  Take cycle mitts with padded palms and well-padded cycling shorts.

Take lightweight synthetic clothes which are easy to hand wash and dry fast. Jeans are not suitable.

For first time riders and families, the Loire Valley châteaux rides are perfect. Stay in Blois or Angers and cycle out each day.

If you see something that you find interesting or intriguing, or meet people who want to chat, then do just that. It’s as much fun as seeing all the requisite sites.

Remember this is a trip to enjoy, you’re not training for the Tour de France!

Go with a specialist company

There are some excellent UK companies that specialize in cycling in France, and particularly the Loire Valley. They provide cycles and E-bikes if you want, luggage transport, accommodation and meals, daily route maps and instructions, and on the spot help.

Cycling for Softies
Inntravel
Cycle Breaks
Freewheel Holidays

Useful Websites

Loiret Tourism Website
Val de Loire Tourism Website
Touraine Tourism Website
Anjou Tourism Website (in French)
Western Loire-Atlantic Tourism Website

Continue the route

The bicycle routes in Europe are extremely ambitious, with the aim of eventually connecting up the whole continent. At the moment, there are 14 EuroVelo routes, from Finland to Dublin to Valetta, Athens and Moscow. The longest route is the Iron Curtain Trail, 10,400 kilometers from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea.

The French East-West route continues on to Vienna, Budapest and Constanta, making a total of 4,448 kilometers from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. But that’s another story.

Here’s where to discover more about European bicycle routes.

The post Loire Valley Cycle Route – La Loire à Vélo appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Plan one of these pilgrim walking routes through France for a different holiday. You’ll get off the beaten track and see parts of France you would normally miss, meet fellow walkers along the way with the same love of the outdoors, and keep fit.

The Pilgrim Walking Routes

The routes, collectively called The Way of St. James, are very well organized, well marked and signposted and offer good accommodation of all kinds on the way. Most of the pilgrim walking routes follow the Sentiers de Grande Randonée. These major routes all have designated numbers, i.e. GR 655 etc.

Note that on French maps, the routes are marked by their Latin names.

Before you start, here’s a short history. Skip it and scroll down if you’re just after information on the four main pilgrim walking routes.

Pilgrims of the Past

From the 10^th century on, pilgrims have been making their way through France to the shrine of St. Jacques (St. James) at Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain. In the 12^th century, one Aymeric Picaud, a monk and scholar, wrote Codex Calixtinus, the Pilgrim’s Guide to the four great pilgrim walking routes through France. You could call it the first ever tourist guide book.

St. James

St. James, one of the twelve disciples of Christ, travelled to Spain after Christ’s death to preach the new gospel. He returned to Judaea, was captured and beheaded in Jerusalem in 44AD. His body was then taken by boat to north Spain, and buried in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.

Pilgrim Symbols

You can distinguish an ordinary walker from somebody on the pilgrim route through two main symbols. The pilgrim’s staff is an obvious one. Basically a walking stick, many of them have a hook which pilgrims used to hang objects from.

Scallop Shells

You’ll see the scallop shell everywhere. Many walkers today carry one but more importantly, the pilgrim walking routes have adopted the scallop as a symbol to mark the way. You’ll see it on boards pointing the way in the countryside and on small brass plaques cemented into roads in towns.

Why the Scallop?

There are two explanations for the scallop. The first is that it was given to pilgrims arriving in Santiago as proof of their journey and safe arrival. Fair enough; scallops were native to this part of Galicia. The second one is that the boat carrying St. James’ body from Judaea to Spain capsized and the crew and body disappeared. But miraculously, the body was found on the shore, intact and covered in scallop shells. Take your pick.

The Golden Age of Pilgrimages

From the 11^th to the 13^th centuries, pilgrimages had an extraordinary effect on Europe. Abbeys and monasteries were founded to care for the pilgrims. Churches and chapels were built for the pilgrims to worship in…and spend their money. Some churches are great buildings like the cathedral at Amiens, Sainte-Foy in the little village of Conques, and Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, the largest Romanesque building still surviving in Europe.

Roads were developed; special ‘pilgrim bridges’ were built. Some of them survive like the oldest medieval ‘pilgrim’ bridges in France: the Pont du Diable over the Herault at Aniane.

This vast movement of people had a huge impact on Europe. Cultural and religious ideas spread and pilgrims returned home bringing their new experiences and their impressions of different lives and societies with them. It affected all classes of society from the humblest to Kings and Emperors.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Pilgrimage Route of Santiago de Compostela was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1998. There are 71 sites on the list. As the citation states: “The Pilgrimage Route of Santiago de Compostela bears exceptional witness to the power and influence of the Christian faith among people of all classes and countries in Europe during the Middle Ages”.

The Four Great Pilgrim Walking Routes in France

There were four major routes during the Middle Ages, starting in Tours, Vézelay, le Puy-en-Velay and Arles. They served as the meeting point for pilgrims from Britain and Ireland, from Scandinavia, from Belgium and the Low Countries, from Germany and Poland. They all converged on St Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees. From here the pilgrims crossed into Spain to begin the 791 kms/492 miles walk to Santiago.

The Way of Tours

The Way of Tours was the main route used by pilgrims coming from Paris and the north of France, England, Ireland and the Low Countries.

The Way of Tours (Via Turonensis) runs along the walking route, GR 655 which starts at the border with Belgium and goes to Paris via Compiègne. Originally The Way of Tours started in Paris at the Saint-Jacques tower, still standing in the rue de Rivoli.  

From Paris to Tours

Today there are two ways from Paris to Tours. The western route goes via Chartres (GR 655 west) and Vendôme and the river Loir with its painted Romanesque churches.

The eastern route goes via Orléans (GR 655 east) past churches like Clery Saint-Andre as well as the châteaux of Blois, Chaumont, and Amboise.

The Route on from Tours

From Tours in the western Loire Valley, the route goes south to the ancient Roman town of Poitiers in Poitou-Charentes. Then it’s on south-west to Saintes, originally an important Roman town with a spectacular amphitheatre and ancient building.

You continue on via Pons with its medieval pilgrim hospital, crossing the Gironde river by ferry at fortified Blaye and then on to Bordeaux on the glorious French Atlantic coast.

Parallel to the Atlantic Coast

Then the route enters Les Landes, the largest pine forest in Western Europe. It’s beautiful walking country dotted with Romanesque chapels and feels strangely remote as if it’s cut off from the rest of France.

The major spa town of Dax is next. Then you reach Sorde l’Abbaye on the river Adour that flows into the sea at Bayonne. Aimeric Picaud describes the ferryman’s tales of villainous Basques ‘savages’. The route at this stage was particularly dangerous until the abbey was founded to protect the pilgrims.

The route follows small roads to Ostabat and ends at St Jean Pied de Port, a walk of 950 kms/590 miles.

The Way of Vézelay

The Way of Vézelay (the Via Lemovicensis) refers to both the Limousin which the route crosses and Limoges, one of the most important pilgrimage stops along the route. It runs for 900 kms/559 miles from Vézelay to Ostabat where it joins up with the routes from Le Puy and from Tours.

The Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene in Vézelay is one of the great abbeys of Europe. You walk into a huge entrance chamber, built to accommodate the pilgrims flooding into the village. Then go through the typanum into an extraordinary space where the light filters through onto the warm stone-flagged floors and lights up the intricate sculptures around the columns of the nave. At midsummer the light floods through the window onto nine spots in the nave that converge onto the altar.

Two different routes start from Vézelay

There are two different routes from Vézelay to the village of Gargilesse-Dompierre where they join up.

The northern route goes through Bourges, a city well worth a stopover for its magnificent gothic cathedral and old quarter full of medieval buildings.  

The southern routes takes in Nevers, focus for the religious as the cathedral contains the shrine of Saint Bernadette Soubirous (of Lourdes).

Into the Limousin and the Dordogne

From Gargilesse-Dompierre the route continues across the foothills of the Limousin to Limoges, famous for its production of fine china produced, much of which is on display in the Fine Arts Museum. The next big city, Périgueux, is the capital of the Dordogne department.

Into the eastern part of Les Landes

The route winds through the wine area of Bordeaux and on to the huge pine forest of Les Landes.

Pilgrims made the hazardous crossing over the Adour river at Saint-Sever, noted for its abbey, old houses and ramparts and views over the river. The trail joins two other Camino de Santiago routes (from Tours and Le Puy-en-Velay) near Ostabat.

The official route follows the old historic Way. Today’s GR 654, the Sentier de Saint-Jacques – Voie de Vézelay, goes a slightly different route, avoiding busy main roads. The GR 654 is for long-distance walkers and is a much longer route.

It’s 900 km/560 miles from Vézelay to St Jean Pied-de-Port.

The Way of Le Puy

The Way of Le Puy (Via Podensis) is the most popular and the best organized of the modern pilgrim walking routes. It starts in Le Puy-en-Velay in the Auvergne, one of the undiscovered gems of this volcanic region.

From Le Puy, you walk over plains and through forests, past tiny chapels with their surprising black madonnas and villages where nothing much seems to happen. Then it’s a wonderful countryside hike over a high plateau to Saugues and its English Tower.

Into the Lozère

Move into the Lozère region, and the architecture changes as red tiled rooves give way to black slate. The Aubrac hillsides are bleak uplands where the views stretch for miles and the villages sit squat in the windswept landscape.

The Lot Valley

The route continues onto the Lot Valley, a gentler place where you reach Espalion with its remarkable views. On to charming Entraygues perched beside the river with an ancient château overlooking the Truyère river.

Don’t miss the perfect medieval village of Conques. It has a beautiful, vast Abbey, a treasure, old cobbled streets, and a monk who gives an extraordinary organ recital each evening.

From here you climb up the hillside from Figeac to Limogne-en-Quercy then through flat woodland trails through the Les Causses Park and past dolmens and ancient stone structures.

The route from Cahors to Moissac takes you along river valleys then over the Garonne into the department of Le Gers. Then it’s Armagnac brandy country.

The countryside changes as the route makes its way into the Basque country and the foothills of the Pyrenees at Ostabat and St-Jean–Pied-de-Port.

The route has been extended and you can start in Geneva. It’s 740 km (460 miles) from Le Puy-en-Velay to St-Jean.

The Way of Arles

The Way of Arles (Via Tolosana) runs along much of GR 653 from the south of France and Italy.

The route starts in the old Mediterranean Roman city of Arles. The route continues to skirt the Mediterranean, going via the great city of Montpellier. It then makes its way north-west out of the main tourist areas. It goes up over the famous Pont du Diable to the medieval village of St-Guilhem-le-Désert with its Benedictine 9^th-century Abbey.

The Hérault gives you panoramic views from its plateaus. They you pass the stalactite wonders of the Grotte de Clamouse and the St-Michel-de-Gramont monastery before reaching Lodève.

Into deep countryside

From here the route starts climbing up to the Haut-Languedoc massif and the Regional Natural Park with its forests and paths which make some of the route difficult to navigate.

Castres is an attractive town with the colourful houses of the tanners’ quarters reflected in the river. You’re in Toulouse-Lautrec country here, though you miss Albi with its museum devoted to the diminutive painter.  

Next you’re in the Gers region, the heart of Gascony. Turning south, you get to the Canal du Midi which takes you into the important city of Toulouse. For pilgrims, it’s the Basilique Saint-Sernin, begun in 1080 to cope with the pilgrims, that is the high point here. 

West from Toulouse

Now the route goes directly west through plains and forests onto Auch, its dramatic cathedral towering over the town. From there it’s south to Pau, that most English of French towns (think croquet and cricket), and down to Oloron-Sainte-Marie. From here it’s a short distance to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port just near St Jean.

The route is 800 km (497 miles) long.

Tips on the pilgrim walking routes in France

1. To start planning, get the special map on a scale of 1:100000. France, sentiers de grande randonnée is published by the Institut Géographique National (IGN).
2. The Fédération Francaise de la Randonnée Pédestre (FFRP) is the organization behind the long distance footpaths – les sentiers de grande randonnée (GR) which exist all over the country. Unfortunately the site is in French only.
3. Try GR website for English more general information.
4. Most of the GR trails run through villages where you can find hotels, bed and breakfasts (chambers d’hote), gîtes d’étape which are small hostels and campsites.
5. Check out the budget hotel chains in France for cheap accommodation on your walk.

More on the Geography of France

Regions of France
Departments of France
Main Rivers of France
The 7 Main Mountain Ranges of France

The post Pilgrim Walking Routes in France appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

If you haven’t tried ski touring but like mountains and have skied before, even badly, I would thoroughly recommend it. It’s a cross between Nordic (on the flat) and alpine skiing. Where possible you ski in back country on unmarked trails, so you need a guide or a very good map and sense of direction. On our ski touring in the Pyrenees the snow wasn’t good enough for our group to go properly off-piste but we weren’t in a resort to attract would-be ski Olympians. So there were gentle runs to be enjoyed without experts flying past.

Who does it suit?

Almost everyone who has done a little skiing and any age. It can be as strenuous or as gentle as you make it.

My Ski Touring Adventure

This is intended as a call to arms for those like myself who are unfit and out of practice. Read and struggle on! Sure I’d been slogging up hills in London (hardly hills, but needs must), and standing against a wall crouching down and staying there until my thighs ached, then doing it again 20 times.

Easy I thought.

How wrong can one be?

A perfect short break

I was on a short break organised by Purely Pyrenees, intended as a gentle immersion in the sport. An early Saturday morning Ryanair flight left Stansted at 8am and arrived at Lourdes at 10.55am French time. The plane appeared to have 2 categories of flyers: those going skiing or mountain trekking and those crossing themselves on taking off and landing who were clearly going to Lourdes on a pilgrimage.

The start was easy with Sally Simmonds from Purely Pyrenees and Laurent Cavaillès, our guide for the next 3 days, meeting us at Lourdes. It’s a 40 minute or so drive to Luz Saint-Saveur where we were based. You’re in the Pyrénées National Park in the Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments, and in the relatively new and huge Occitan region of France.

Luz Saint-Sauveur

Luz Saint-Sauveur is a pretty town, at its height in the 19^th century when Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie discovered the Pyrenees, thermal waters and Luz. There’s a delightful 13^th-century, sturdy little Templars church protected by walls and lit up at night; Napoleon’s formidable bridge over the Gavarnie Gave river (there’s a good 3km walk built around the Emperor), and just outside the town, Château Sainte-Marie. Rebuilt by the English in the late 14th century (yes, they got this far), it’s perched on a small outcrop as protection for the town.

More usefully, there are plenty of ski equipment and clothing shops and a good tourist office.

We get kitted out

The first stop was Oxygène Ski Montagne to get kitted out.

Ski touring boots are slightly different from those used by alpine skiers. Choose a boot where your toes just touch the front end but when you tip the boot up as if you’re going uphill, your foot slides very slightly back.

Skis are different as well: lighter, shorter and wider. Your boot locks onto the ski at the front with 2 small bolts that fit into the boot and click shut. You then ram down your heel to get it into the back lock. When you’re walking uphill, you unlock the back of the boot which needs to be free so you can easily glide along and uphill.

An uncertain start

We started that afternoon, driving from Luz up through Baregès to the Station du Grand Tourmalet. It was for a couple of hours’ skiing so Laurent could assess the different levels of skill of the group and plan accordingly.

I put on the rigid boots, and asked Laurent to help get my boots into the notoriously difficult skis. I felt supremely confident…then fell over on the way to the ski lift and had to be helped ignominiously to my feet.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the magic carpet getting my admittedly pathetic ski legs back, and great fun it was too.

You step onto a moving walkway (remember to bend forward; it moves quite fast), then emerge at the top of a slope with enough space for the ski instructors and their pupils, anxious parents and apprentice skateboarders to wobble their way downhill.

After five descents I felt like a pro.

Two days of ski touring

The next two days took us around the Domaine du Tourmalet then on the second day to Gavernie Gèdre, around 2,000 metres high up in the Haute-Pyrénées. 

The Col du Tourmalet at 2,115 m (6,939 ft) is the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees and is one of the most famous passes in the Tour de France (it’s featured 87 times in the world’s greatest cycle race). The Col itself is closed in winter, but you ski around it on the western side through part of the forest of Lienz. In summer the high pastures are full of cows and sheep brought up at the transhumance in May or early June and living off the grass until October. In winter, snow covers the rocky landscape and the streams and waterfalls are silent. You catch glimpses of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, 2,877 metres high and dominating the surrounding 300km.

But before you start climbing

Nothing is easy. We had to fit ‘skins’ onto the skis to walk uphill. You put them on at the bottom of the slope, slog upwards, then take them off at the top before skiing downhill. It’s all part of ski touring in the Pyrenees.

Gavernie Gèdre is due south from Saint Sauveur close to the Spanish border. The Station is delightful, with enough climbing upwards to keep you fit but not steep enough to put you off. The downhill slopes are forgiving. Hey, ski touring in the Pyrenees turned out to be great fun.

You’re not high enough to look down onto the famous Cirque de Gavarnie. So do what we did, take a picnic lunch in the little village of Gavarnie then walk beside the river as far as you want to. To get close up and to the Hotel du cirque et de la Cascade takes about an hour. We walked for half of that but got close enough. It was getting late in the afternoon and the sun was falling behind the mountain.

The Cirque is a natural phenomenon, carved out over millions of years by glacial erosion. It’s an extraordinary site, an amphitheatre for the gods, described by Victor Hugo as ‘nature’s Colosseum’. 800 metres wide at the bottom and 3,000 metres wide at the top, the rocky surrounding walls rise up to 1,500 metres above the Cirque’s floor. The Gavarnie Falls are frozen during the winter, the waters cascading in spring and summer down a series of three huge vertical steps. Fed by Spanish rivers, the falls are the second highest waterfall in Europe.

The Brèche de Roland towards the top is a natural gap, bordered by slender walls over 100 m tall cut into the limestone. Its name comes from yet another legend, this time of Roland, Charlemagne’s nephew (another legend as he probably was not the great Emperor’s nephew). Fatally wounded in the wars against the Moors, Roland hurled his sword into the mountain, which miraculously split.

Apres ski touring in some great spas

Both full days of skiing were followed by a couple of hours in local spas. This isn’t part of the package, but you can add them on and they really do wonders. The pools are super heated (34 degrees), with jets around the walls and underground while water pours down periodically in the centre. Hammams and saunas are spacious and peaceful and showers copious.

Balnéo Cieléo in Barèges has excellent facilities which include a large pool, and a series of small baths or pools taking from 1, 2 or up to 10 people offering powerful hydro jets.

Luzea in Luz Saint-Sauveur offers smaller general facilities. But spend some time in the magnificent vaulted room where you lie on loungers looking out at the mountains. Easy to imagine yourself as Empress Eugenie (or Napoleon III) whose patronage put the small resort spa town on the map.

Where we stayed

The Hôtel de Londres in Luz Saint-Sauveur may only have two stars, but it’s an excellent hotel. Bedrooms are good sized; mine looked out over the river which gushed and gurgled over the rocks. It was either that sound or sheer exhaustion that sent me off to sleep so well. Bathrooms have good decorative touches like natural rocks making the floor of the shower and a large granite basin. Downstairs a terrace looks out onto that gushing river. There’s a spacious restaurant and a small bar with a big screen occupying one wall. We were there for the start of the 6 nations rugby matches. The bar was packed with French, English and Welsh; frogs legs were offered after France beat England which we graciously accepted.

We ate here on two evenings. Food is honest, plentiful and local. If you’re a charcuterie fan, take the platter of saucisson and hams. This is the area of the famed black pig of Bigorre so take advantage.

The hotel and all meals are included in the Purely Pyrenees package, but I recommend the hotel if you’re doing your own trip.

Dinner at an Auberge

The first night we ate at Chez Louisette, a 20-minute drive from Luz. The only problem was the last stretch which was cut off from the car park by snow. Laurent’s torch just about lit the way over the bottom end of a piste, but take your own torch and go well shod if you’re going there at night.

It was worth it. The auberge is large, still owned by the same family who started a cremerie here in 1905 selling dairy products. A roaring fire, large wooden tables and chairs, and specials chalked up on a blackboard set the tone.

Food, particularly in winter, is hearty with starters like charcuterie from Bigorre pork or smoked trout, followed by perhaps the local specialty of garbure (Pyrenean stew), or duck breast. This is not the place for vegetarians though they did provide a plate of vegetables when asked. My dessert of fromage blanc with slightly sharp red fruit proved the perfect end to the meal.

It’s also a great place for lunch if you take that particular piste down from the Station du Grand Tourmalet.

The day of departure

The flight from Lourdes to Stansted leaves at 3.35pm so there’s a last morning to fill. We were intending to go up the Pic du Midi, one of the great attractions of Occitanie but strong winds closed it. (Be ready for that; we learnt the day before and it happens quite frequently in winter.) The only good thing? I’ll have to go back.

Instead we spent the morning in Argelès-Gazost at the Tuesday market. It’s a small town on the way to Lourdes with an animal park devoted to the wild animals of the region: foxes, ibex, and marmots as well as wolves.

The town’s other main claim to fame is, rather bizarrely, the Maison Lagure boulangerie which was elected world champion of pain au chocolat in 2019. They are pretty good. Local producers fill the squares of the town, including a man making gâteaux à la broche, a Pyrennean rib sticking delicacy. Brioche are turned on a spit while he poured a liquid paste over it, solidifying the brioche into a shape of a pine tree. To serve, you cut slices off then add whatever you want – ice cream, jam, or cream.

Fact Box

For more information please visit the Purely Pyrenees website. The Ski-Touring Try-it Weekend is a guided tour lasting four days with prices starting from £712 per person. It includes transfers to and from Lourdes airport, all accommodation and meals, all equipment, ski passes, English-speaking tour/skiing guide and some sightseeing including the Pic du Midi (if open) on the final day.

Flights from Stansted to Lourdes by Ryanair cost from £74 round trip depending on when you book.

Good luck on your ski touring adventure in the Pyrenees and have fun!

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The Auvergne is one of France’s neglected remote regions. So I hope this Auvergne travel guide will show you the glories of this relatively unknown region of France.

Why visit the Auvergne?

Ask people why they should visit the Auvergne and even those who come to France fairly often are hard put to answer. Invariably there’s a blank look and an answer such as ‘Why visit the Auvergne? Where exactly is that?’

So where is the Auvergne?

The Auvergne is in central France at the heart of the Massif Central. Historically one of the poorest and most rural areas of France, it’s still a relatively wild area. Extinct volcanoes (puys) march across the countryside, offering walks across a landscape that seems to be the roof of the world. Rivers make their way majestically through deep gorges; forests, still home to deer and wild boar, cover much of the land. 

The Auvergne may sound inhospitable but it’s not. I bought a house here just after leaving university (quite a time ago I have to admit) in a tiny hamlet near Le Puy-en-Velay. The local farmers were initially baffled by us (there are still very few foreigners in the region and when we bought the house, we were definitely a novelty). But they took us to their hearts, starting with help on rebuilding the large roof. The main farmer in the village brought timber for the roof down through the logging trails that surround the village, and appeared at 4am one morning to sheet over the exposed house when the weather broke and the heavens opened. His wife gave help when my son burnt his hand on an oil lamp, and as for the bee sting… But that’s another story. (To be continued!)

So to continue with my Auvergne Travel Guide…

Look at a map of France from almost any normal tourist point of view: châteaux; vineyards; major attractions; and there’s a big blank hole in the middle which is the Auvergne. It’s one of the reasons why I love this region with a passion. It’s unspoilt, lacking the sophistication of its big neighbor Rhône-Alpes, but with the biggest heart and soul you could hope to find.

About the Auvergne

Four departments make up the Auvergne. The Allier (03) is in the north, Puy de Dôme (63) lies in the middle, and the Cantal (15) and Haute Loire (43) (where the Loire rises) are in the south. The main city, and capital of both the region and of Puy de dôme, is Clermont-Ferrand. The city might be the home of Michelin, but it’s a long way from an industrial conglomerate.

Allier Department (03)

Moulins is the capital of the Allier. Located on the river, it’s a delightful city well worth a visit if just for the Centre National du Costume de Scène. The national centre holds a vast collection of stage costumes, stage sets and theatrical accessories, as well as the Nureyev Collection with costumes and artefacts from his astonishing career.

Puy de Dôme Department (63)

Clermont-Ferrand is the capital of the Puy de Dôme department, as well as the whole of the Auvergne. It’s famous as the home of Michelin tyres, but with its medieval quarter and old cobbled meandering streets, it feels more like a typical French city than an industrial centre.

Michelin is still big here, supporting the local football team and a host of local projects. Well worth seeing is the Aventure Michelin which tells the story of the company, still owned by the private Michelin family. There’s an impressive cathedral built of black basalt and good restaurants. The nearby Puy de Dôme is easy to visit.

Cantal Department (15)

Aurillac holds the honours as capital of the Cantal. It’s a lively town, with ancient streets and the beautiful Place St-Géraud. The town is best known for its annual Street Theatre Festival which has to be seen to be believed. In 2020 it’s from 19^th to 22^nd August.

Haute-Loire Department (43)

The capital of the Haute-Loire, tucked down in the south of the Auvergne, is the splendid town of Le Puy-en-Velay. I have seen it change, from remarkably sleepy provincial and rural capital to a more prosperous place. It’s dominated by its religious icons, perched on top of volcanic outcrops. The cathedral dominates the old town and it was from here that countless medieval pilgrims set out on their long journey to Saint James of Compostella in Spain. Today, the most popular pilgrim walking route starts here at the cathedral.

More Auvergne Towns and Cities to Visit

Vichy

50 kms (31 miles) north of Clermont-Ferrand, Vichy still suffers as the place for the puppet government of Marshal Pétain during World War II. Forget that and concentrate on its famous springs. It’s still a city where the French flock to for treatments, so is rather staid. But it’s also full of Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings and gardens, that helped nurse the ailing visitors back to rude health.

St Flour

St-Flour in the Cantal is 92 kms (57 miles) south of Clermont. A long and august history gave it its 14^th-century Gothic cathedral with its remarkable interior. The bishop’s palace houses the Musée de la Haute-Auvergne with furniture and musical instruments. There’s a very good market on Saturday mornings. It’s in the Aubrac, a high region where the cattle graze peacefully in summer and the snow sweeps over the high plateaus in winter.

St Nectaire

St-Nectaire has two parts: the old village of St-Nectaire-le-Haut and St-Nectaire-le-Bas, a spa with turn of the century architecture. In between there’s a huge salt marsh.

Salers

Salers, 42 kms north of Aurillac, is one of the very pretty towns and villages of the region (and it’s official; it’s on the Plus Beaux Villages de France government list). It’s like stepping into a  15^th– and 16^th-century picture book with splendid old houses and squares.

The Puys of the Auvergne

The Monts-Dômes, the Monts-Dore and the Monts du Cantal make up the impressive Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d’Auvergne. It’s a lonely, beautiful spectacular area.

In the Mont- Dômes surrounding Clermont-Ferrand, the Puy de Dôme is one of the highlights of the region. At 1465 metres high, it was the result of a mighty volcanic explosion some 10,000 years ago. Take the railway to the top for truly wonderful views and the sight of paragliders leaping into nothing from the summit.

The Monts-Dore is more rugged. Here the Dordogne river rises near the little town of Le Mont-Dore on the Puy de Sancy, at 1885 the highest point in the Massif Central. Take the cable car for more of those views.

Don’t Miss Attractions

Vulcania

In a landscape of volcanoes, it’s not surprising to find a theme park devoted to them. Vulcania is interactive with a 3D film on eruptions in the Auvergne and enough attractions for a good family day out.

Tourist Train through the Allier Gorges

If you’re in the Haute-Loire, take the tourist train that runs through the Allier Gorges between Langeac and Langogne. It’s a great ride through the gorges, looking down at the flowing river and up at the little villages that cling to the hillside. It’s 2-hour trip through 53 tunnels.  

Sports in the Auvergne

This is the region for all kinds of sports. It’s one of the great walking areas, with grandes randonées, walking paths that are well maintained and signposted snaking through the region. The best one is the route that takes you from Le Puy-en-Velay, the start of the medieval pilgrims’ way to Spain.

The Allier offers white water rafting, and high puys offer paragliding. Check in each local town or village for information.

Food of the Auvergne

Being a rural region, the Auvergne’s food reflects its roots. Unlike the refined cuisine of nearby Burgundy, this is peasant food. Try heartening dishes like potée Auvergnate, a pot-au-feu made of cabbage, potatoes, bacon, beans and turnips. Cabbage features again in chou farci where the vegetable is stuffed with beef and pork. L’aligot mixes puréed potatoes and cheese to make a rib-sticking superb filler of stomachs.
Try all of these dishes and more. I hope this Auvergne travel guide gives you an appetite for rustic cooking.

There are five major Auvergne cheeses, all of them with the Appellation d’Origine Controlée designation.
St-Nectaire is the best known, a cheese made from cows’ milk. It’s made either on the farms themselves (Saint-Nectaire fermier), or in dairies (the Saint-Nectaire laitier).
Cantal is one of France’s oldest cheeses. It gets its different tastes from how long it has been aged.
Fourme d’Ambert is a mild blue cheese, while Bleu d’Auvergne is punchier and to my mind, better than the saltier Roquefort.
Salers is the fifth of Auvergne’s great cheeses. It’s farm produced during the summer months (mid-April to mid-November using unpasteurized milk.

Getting to the Auvergne

By Air

There are 2 major airports to use. Clermont Airport is at Aulnat, 7 kms (3.5 miles) east of the city center.
Major airlines like KLM, Air France fly to Clermont-Ferrand from the UK but you have to change in Paris. During the holiday season (starting at Easter), Ryanair flies direct to Clermont-Ferrand from London Stansted. There are connections to Paris Orly or Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, Nice, Corsica and other European cities.
Lyon is a much better bet as there are numerous well-priced flights from the UK. You can easily hire a car at the airport.

By Car

If you’re taking your car, the journey will depend on your Auvergne destination. But Clermont-Ferrand is a good starting point. It’s 423 kilometers (262 miles) from Paris and the drive takes around 4 hours.

If you are coming from the UK by car, take the ferry to Calais. From Calais to Clermont, the distance is 720 kms (448 miles), so it’s best to break the journey.

Clermont-Ferrand is 423 kilometers (262 miles) from Paris and by car takes around 4 hours. If you are coming from the UK by car, take the ferry to Calais. From Calais to Clermont, the distance is 720 kms (448 miles), so it’s best to break the journey.

Check out the ferry possibilities here.

Auvergne Office Tourist Site

The post Auvergne Travel Guide appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Location

Getting to the Iles de Lérins is easy, it’s just a wonderful 15 to 20 minute ferry ride. And they are fabulous, these secret islands off Cannes. So here are the reasons to go! The Iles de Lérins represent the Mediterranean in miniature. The two islands are so near to chic but consumerist Cannes, yet so far away in spirit. This is the quiet Côte d’Azur before the cinema crowd moved in. Even the breezy crossing is cool Cannes – without the bling or billionaire company. While away an afternoon over a waterside picnic, enjoy a wine tasting with monks, or walk past creeks to the next dip in turquoise waters.

Both islands are made for walking, picnicking, swimming, snoozing and dreaming. Come for spiritual sustenance on the monastic island of Saint Honorat. The Cistercian brothers will also tempt you with their Bordeaux-style wines, monastic liqueurs and Mediterranean feasts in their island restaurant.

Whether picnicking or praying, come to clear your head of Cannes. There’s only so much chic boutique-hopping most mortals can take. And the unworldly Brothers are better salesmen too.

The article The Iles de Lérins off Cannes tells you all you need to know about visiting the islands: walking, swimming, wine tasting and dining.

Getting to the Iles de Lérins

It’s a short crossing to the car-free islands from Cannes (15-20 minutes) and slightly longer from La Napoule. You can’t visit both islands on one boat trip: return to Cannes for the second cruise or, even better, do it another day, combined with the ravishing Corniche d’Or cruise of the Esterel Coast.

Getting to Ile Sainte Marguerite

Ile Sainte Marguerite: do the boat trip from Cannes, Mandelieu La Napoule, Golfe Juan, or Nice. Different companies offer different ports of departure. It’s quickest (and cheapest) from Cannes, followed by La Napoule, Golfe Juan and Nice. If cruising from Nice, treat it as a day trip to include the Corniche d’Or (Esterel Coast) as well. Try a variant on the basic cruise, combining Sainte Marguerite with a dinner cruise, regatta, fireworks display, catamaran cruise, or a sail along the Corniche d’Or.

Compagnie Riviera Lines
Quai Laubeuf
06400 Cannes
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 98 71 31
Website

Cannes to Sainte Marguerite
Daily departures from 7.30am to 7pm (the crossing takes 15 minutes). Return services run from 7.45am to 6pm.
Return tickets: 15€ adults, 13.50 € for students, 11 to 14 years and seniors, 9.50€ for children 5 to 10 years; free for children under 5.

Cannes to Sainte Marguerite and the Corniche d’Or, the ‘Golden Coast’
Return tickets 34€ adults, 22€ children 4 to 10 years. Under 4 years free
Departures: April 4 to September 9: Wednesday and Friday
July 1 to August 30: Monday, Wednesday and Friday
This glorious trip combines the island and one of the loveliest stretches of coast on the Riviera.

Golfe Juan to Sainte Marguerite and the Corniche d’Or, the ‘Golden Coast’
Return tickets from Golfe Juan: 39€ adult, 28€ children 4 to 10 years. Under 4 years free
Same departure dates and times as for Cannes to Sainte Marguerite

Trans Côte d’Azur
Quai Laubeuf
06400 Cannes
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 98 71 30
Website

Cannes to Sainte Marguerite
Daily departures from Cannes run from 7.30am to 6pm (the crossing takes 15 minutes). Return services run from 7.45am to 6pm.
Return tickets: 15€ adults, 13.50€ students, 11 to 14 years and seniors, 9.50€ for the under 10, free for children under 5. Book online for a discount on these prices (tickets are valid for one month).

Nice to Sainte Marguerite
Departures from Nice run from 9am for 10am-6pm on Sainte Marguerite returning to Nice at 7pm for this full day cruising.
Dates: May 21 to June 30 and September 3 to 29: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
July 2 to September 1: daily except Mondays.
Return tickets: 41€ adults, 32€ children 4 to 10 years. Under 4 years free
Book online or by tel: (+33) (0)4 92 00 42 30

Nice to Sainte Marguerite and the Corniche d’Or
Departures from Nice 9am, return 7pm full day cruising to both islands
Dates: July 3 to August 30
Return tickets: 50€ adults, 40€ children 4 to 10 years. Under 4 years free
Book online or by tel: (+33) (0)4 92 00 42 30
Also cruises to see the fireworks off Cannes around Bastille Day, Monaco Grand Prix, Regattas and Flea Markets in St Tropez

Compagnie Maritime Napouloise
La Napoule Port
Tel: (+33) (0)6 25 33 40 84
Website

Mandelieu-La Napoule cruise to Sainte Marguerite
Departures: from 9.15am to 5.30pm returning from 9.40am to 6pm.
Dates: May 19 to September 22 daily except Mondays
Return ticket: 19€ adults, students, 11 to 14 years and seniors 17.50€. Under 4 years free

Mandelieu-La Napoule cruise to Sainte Marguerite and the Esteril
Catamaran cruise departures: May-September, Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm inc the chance to snorkel and bathe and meal on board.
Tickets: 108€ adults, 66€ children 4 to 10 years.
Half day afternoon tours are 3 to 5pm and cost 57€ adults and 47€ children 4 to 10 years.
See the website for more cruises.
They also depart from Théoule-sur-Mer.

Getting to Ile Saint Honorat

Ile Saint Honorat: there are fewer crossings to St Honorat as the resident monks value their privacy. Leave from Cannes on the island’s only ferry line, Planaria, and you can combine a visit with magnificent Corniche d’Or cruise.

Ile Saint Honorat
Planaria
Quai Laubeuf
06400 Cannes
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 98 71 38
Website

Cannes to St Honorat: (15 minute-crossing):
Daily departures hourly from 8am to 5pm. Return hourly from 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Return tickets booked online: 14.50€ adults; 14€ students, disabled and seniors; 13€ 13 to 18 year olds; 8.50€ 8 to 13 year olds, 5.50€ 4 to 8 year olds; children under 4 go free.
Check out the website for other possibilities like wine tastings.

Cannes – Office du Tourisme Palais des Festivals
1, Boulevard de la Croisette
06400 Cannes
Tel: (+) 33 (0)4 92 99 84 22
Website
Open daily, 9am-7pm, March-October
Cannes hotel booking on line

Walk to the hidden coves, go swimming off the rocks, take a picnic and chill out under the trees. Or see where The Man in the Iron Mask was incarcerated.
Check it all out here.

More about the South of France
Travel Guide to Nice
The Riviera – Great Gatsby Style
Essential Guide to Provence

The post Getting to the Iles de Lérins appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Two islands make up the Ile de Lérins off Cannes. Just a peaceful 15-minute boat ride from the glitzy resort, these islands are the place to unwind, enjoying a waterside picnic, swimming in hidden coves, wandering around the Abbey, and tasting monastic award-winning wines.

A little history

The islands have been occupied since Roman times but followed very different paths. While Saint Honorat has always been associated with peace and prayer, Sainte Marguerite has been more warlike.

In AD 410 St Honoratus landed on Saint Honorat, his private paradise, but word spread and soon the hermit had a successful monastery on his hands, including the future St Patrick as a disciple. By the fifth century, this was arguably the most illustrious monastery in Christendom. It eventually controlled abbeys and land stretching from the Cannes coast to the Loire Valley. A small community of Cistercian monks still runs the island.

Instead, the island of Sainte Marguerite chose war. In the 1630s, the island was occupied by the Spanish, who built a pentagonal fort on an ancient Roman site. Under French royal rule, the fort was finished and became a feared state prison, including for political prisoner and religious dissenters. The mysterious inmate known as ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ was held there for 11 years from 1687 to 1698. The so-called Fort Royal is still formidable today.

Touring Ile Sainte Marguerite

The island of Sainte Marguerite is the closest, largest and lushest of the secret Iles de Lérins off Cannes. From the ferry, it’s a gentle five-mile circuit around the shore, but there are lots of short cuts back to the fort and the ferry landing stage. To get a sense of the island as a place of pillage and plunder, visit the Fort Royal first. For a picnic, choose one of the wilder creeks on the southern side of the island, along the Allée de Ceinture, or the lofty grounds of the Fort Royal, looking across the bay towards Cannes.

Fort Royal

From the pier, take a left towards the pentagonal Fort Royal, the island’s star attraction. This cliff-top stronghold and former prison overlooks Cannes and the coast, with romantic views from the ramparts. The Fort Royal was built by Cardinal Richelieu but remodelled by Vauban, the great military architect. During World War Two, the occupying Nazis added bunkers and a look-out tower.

The fort is most famous for being the prison of ‘the Man in the Iron Mask’. The mysterious masked captive was confined here for 11 years and might conceivably have been Louis XIV’s twin brother, or even a woman. His cell is oddly moving.

Behind the former prison is the Maritime Museum (Musée de la Mer) with a Roman boat and a collection of pottery recovered from ancient shipwrecks.

From here, if feeling lazy, take the Allée des Eucalyptus, where stately trees line the way to the wilder, southern shore, with its rocky coastline and sea breezes. Cars are banned so you should have the coves, trails and turquoise waters mostly to yourself, except in summer. The perfect micro climate means that the island is often balmy in April, even when clouds hang over the Cannes hills.

Instead, if feeling more energetic, retrace your steps from the fort to the pier and follow the coastal path in an anti-clockwise direction. Pass the island’s only proper beaches, between the pier and Pointe de Batéguier, to the Etang du Batéguier nature reserve. In spring and autumn this brackish lake is a welcome landing stage for migratory birds. Even outside these times you might spot herons, stern and wild duck, or a kestrel overhead. All proof that the island is attuned to birdsong not bling.

From here, follow the Chemin de Ceinture path, which hugs the waterfront and runs west to east the 3km length of the island. It takes you to the wilder waterfront, facing the contemplative monks, not consumerist Cannes. The dizzyingly natural scents evoke Corsica not Cannes. Breathe in the scented bush, a mix of eucalyptus and thyme, lentisk and lavender, honeysuckle and heather.In the secluded coves, it’s hard to believe that Cannes’ star-studded Croisette is just over a mile away.

For swimming, sensible sorts choose one of the island’s rare sandy beaches, facing Cannes, close to Chemin du Batéguier. Romantics and yachties prefer the wilder southern shore facing away from the city. Here, the coastline is riddled with tiny, crooked coves made for sunbathing and swimming. Edged by Aleppo pines and scorched brush, the creeks fill up with smug yachties in high summer.

Keep following the trail east, rounding the windswept Pointe de la Convention to reach the tamer northern shore. After a picnic or gourmet lunch, amble back to the jetty and chug home to Cannes. If rushing for a boat, cut across the forested interior via the tunnel-like paths.

Where to eat

Ponder a Mediterranean picnic of ham, cheese and olives picked up at Forville market in Cannes, before the cruise. Or try these places restaurants.

Visiting Ile Saint Honorat

Saint Honorat is tucked behind Sainte Marguerite, and easily overlooked. It’s not quite as accessible as its big sister – exactly as the monks like it. Even so, in August, the flotilla of moored yachts almost makes a bridge between the two islands. Sadly, you can’t hop across, but need to take the ferry from Cannes. It’s all part of preserving the monks’ peaceful way of life. This serene, mile-long island has been a place of prayer for over 1,500 years, bar the odd piratical invasion.

Monastic Life

The island is still a heady mix of scented paths, swaying umbrella pines and wafting monks. Around twenty Cistercian brothers share their retreat with the world. These black-and-white cassocked monks are among the holiest and happiest you’ll ever meet. As Brother Marie-Paques, the abbey spokesman says, “a community life means joy and inner peace.”

The community is contemplative and cloistered, as St Benedict envisioned. Their tenets are work, love, pray and self-sufficiency, an extension of the Benedictines’ devotion to “ora e labora” (`work and prayer’). It’s about simplicity, stripping life down to its essence, including communal prayers seven times a day. But these austere monks also observe the ancient Benedictine tradition of hospitality. You are welcome to join them for Sunday Mass, Vespers or even a spiritual retreat.

Take a clockwise tour of the island, respecting the monks’ private domain, signalled by symbols of cassocked monks. Resisting their gated pathways strewn with wild geraniums, hug the coast and you can’t go wrong. From the jetty, head east, passing well-tended vineyards and olive groves. On the east of the island are tiny bays and ruined chapels, a reminder that some date back over a millennium. Curiously, the island is also dotted with furnaces that forged cannonballs in Napoleonic times.

The fortified monastery is the most romantic building, standing sentinel on the southern shore, facing the open sea. Soon to be restored, this stark medieval citadel defended the community against Saracen raids.It is without equal in the Mediterranean. Climb the eerie staircase to the roof terraces for views over the honey-tinted abbey and the mountains beyond across the water.

The Abbey

From here, a path leads to the handsome abbey, mostly dating from the 19^th century. The abbey complex is worked by the twenty-strong monks, who toil in the vineyards, lavender beds and herb gardens. The black-and-white cassocked Brothers can be wafting through the wisteria-hung cloisters towards the winery. As monastic tradition dictates, the fragrant herbs often end up in potent liqueurs, fortified by Menton lemons and secret brews.

The abbey church is most compelling at Easter Day Mass, when the simple but heartfelt `service of light’ justifies the crossing. If doing a retreat here, you can even join the monks in the Saturday night Easter Vigil, held before sunrise on Easter Day. Later, if you are lucky enough to bump into the beaming Frere Marie-Pacques, he might be toasting the Resurrection with a glass of abbey wine.

Spirits for the spiritual

There have probably been vineyards here since the foundation of the abbey as wine was needed for Holy Communion. Brother Marie-Pâques, in charge of wine-making, began as a beekeeper before God called him to serve. Today, the 8-hectare vineyards are renowned for their unique terroir that produces wines of great subtlety, helped by the temperate, maritime climate and the minerality of the soil. After tasting the abbey wines, whether St Honorat or St Saveur, sacrilegious visitors have been known to cry: “Hallelujah, there is a god!”

If keen on Bordeaux-style wines, toast the monks in their own brew: Brother Marie-Pâques is certain that the island vineyards offer a unique ‘terroir’ that is behind the striking freshness and minerality of the wines, reinforced by the salty air and marine breezes. Sample the renowned wines in the abbey boutique, bar or restaurant (see below). Instead, the affordable liqueurs include: Lérincello, made with Menton lemons; citrussy Lérina Jaune; and herby Lérina Verte, made with mint, aniseed and verbena.

Where to eat

La Tonnelle,  the charming waterfront restaurant, is only open for lunch. Choose from reasonably-priced grilled meats, seafood, shellfish, foie gras and salads, matched with (pricey but special) monastic wines. This is a proper restaurant but Les Canisses (11.45am-5pm, open year-round) serves snacks such as panini, sandwiches, ice cream, coffee and cakes (lemon tart and chocolate cake for tea); lounge bar too.

Shopping in the Iles de Lérins

The islands are a shopping-free zone. But if you’re pushing the boat out, buy the renowned abbey wines (or better-value liqueurs) which can be sampled at the Abbaye de Lérins, or over the water in Cannes.

How to get to the Isles de Lérins off Cannes

More about the South of France
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French Riviera – Great Gatsby Style
Essential Guide to Provence

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