Moto Auvergne Plaisir - Motorcycle travel agency
Motorcycle road trip
Follow your dreams, they know the road!
DAY 1
Crémieu
The meeting place will be in the middle of the afternoon to take possession of your rooms in the medieval city of Crémieu.
Before dinner, a guided tour of the Brasserie des Ursulines in the Ursuline convent will be a good way to whet your appetite.
DAY 2
Crémieu / Grenoble - 200km
This trip starts through hills and over plateaus leaving from the medieval town of Crémieu in the direction of the Lakes Paladru and Aiguebelette.
Once you have gone over the col de l’Epine, you will find yourself in the Chartreuse National Park with its long lines of ridges from North to South and from here you will get to visit the Gorges du Guiers Vif and the Fort Saint Eynard. By the end of the day, you will get to Grenoble, the “Capital of the Alps”.
DAY 3
Grenoble / Die - 185km
Just after leaving Grenoble, you will find yourselves in the Vercor National Park, with its famous ridges and steep gorges. Views that never fail to impress.
First of all, you will visit the Gorges de la Bourne and the Choranche caves. A narrow picturesque road at the edge of the national forest of Coulmes will take you to the Gorges du Nan. With a few well chosen detours, your journey continues on to the legendary Col de Rousset, the “biker highlight” of the day. You won’t believe the views as you do the descent towards the town of Die. A treat for your eyes !
At the end of the day, you will get to sample a glass of sparkling Clairette, a speciality of Die. A treat for your tastebuds !
DAY 4
Die / l'Alpe d'Huez -203km
As soon as you see the name of Alpe d’Huez, we know you’ll be thinking of the 21 sharp turns in the road, and yes, that’s what you’ve got in store for you today !
But that’s not all ! You will also have time to admire the magnificent scenery of the Cirque d’Archiane before getting to the Col de Menée where you will do a round trip that takes you to visit Notre Dame de la Salette.
The Massif des Ecrins is not very far now, and by following its border via the Col d’Ornon, you will arrive at the Bourg d’Oisans. Here again, from the alluvial plains of la Romanche as you look left towards the 21 sharp turns of the Alpe d’Huez, you can admire the grandiose work of time on the folds and faults of the cliff walls.
Depending on your head for heights and of course, information on the weather and the state of the roads, there is an alternative route that you could take at the end of the route between the Col d’Ornon and the Alpes d’Huez.
DAY 5
L'Alpes d'Huez / Val d'Isère - 202km
In the direction of Val d’Isère, you will first enter into the Ecrins National Park. Keep an eye out for marmots, chamois and ibex !
In the village of La Grave, you will see La Meije (3984m) looming over you. This is from where Pierre Gaspard wrote about one of the most fascinating accounts in the history of mountaineering. In 1877 he was the first to open up the way to the summit.
The road trip will continue with a succession of passes with evocative names: Le Lautaret, Le Galibier then that of the Telegraph. As you leave the Ecrins National Park behind you, you will see the contours of the Vanoise emerging in the distance.
At the Iseran pass, at an altitude of 2,764 meters, you will be on the highest road pass in the Alps. You will end this day in the authentic mountain village of Bonneval-sur Arc and then Val d'Isère.
DAY 7
Megeve / Thônes - 140km
Did you have a restless night and wake up at dawn ? This is a phenomena called the Mont Blanc effect.
With an altitude of more than 4800m, Chamonix, the Aiguille du Midi, the Mer de Glace, Mont Blanc could well be considered the roof of western Europe !
You will, no doubt, feel humbled by the sheer size of the landscape. It was here,at 4am on the 8th August, 1786 that Michel Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat began their journey up the mountain, to reach the summit after 6pm.
As you sit in front of 190 Place de l’Eglise, in front of the Maison de la Compagnies des Guides de Chamonix, you will soak up the atmosphere of the mountains.
A short section that will give you time to take the Aiguille du Midi cable car at the end of the morning and eat at an altitude of 3842 meters as close as possible to Mont-Blanc, then head back to Thônes, the Capital of Aravis… and Reblochon (well-known french cheese) !
DAY 8
Thônes / Crémieu - 215km
Direction Venice. The Venice of the Alps, Annecy of course!
It will the “beach side” of Annecy. And now, you will discover the “mountain side”. The Massif des Bauges Regional Natural Park, with the Semnoz mountain followed by the Pont de l’Abime which has a height of almost a 100 meters.
You will get back to the “beach side” as you ride along le lac du Bourget. Your final ascent of the day will be Le Grand Colombier and you will be able to stop and admire the splendid Glandieu waterfall before making your way calmly back to the medieval town of Crémieu.
DAY 9
Crémieu
Your road trip is now over. It’s time to say goodbye after a last breakfast together.
A guided tour of Crémieu is possible if you wish to delay your departure by a few hours.
Please ask us for more information on this visit.
Crédit photo : "Cloître des Augustins de Crémieu" by FrenchHope is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
MAP - Moto Auvergne Plaisir reserves the right to modify the itinerary without notice as provided in the GTC and CDV
Non-contractual program.
The daily descriptive maps briefly represent the routes and are in no way the detailed GPX files that will be provided for the road trip.