Recommended places to stay in French Alps?

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colster
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Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:02 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

I am planning my summer holidays this year for the hallowed French Alps. I've been to Italian Alps before and cycled in Spain a few times so now wanna ride some of the legendary climbs in cyclings mecca.

I have looked at some of the many package tours availabe but most seem to be only 4-5 days, so for added ride time and freedom I'm more inclined to just base myself somewhere to explore locally. Having read some earlier threads on this subject I'm coming to the decision my base should be either Bourg St Maurice, Bourg d'Oisans or St Jean de Maurienne.

Do any people have recommendations for places to stay in those locales? I'm guessing most are cyclist friendly.
I cannot drive (spend too much £€$ on bikes) so need places I can feasibly reach with public transport and taxis

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dolophonic
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by dolophonic

Barcelonnette..lots of great rides from there

basilic
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by basilic

If you like to do loops, as opposed to out-and-back rides, Barcelonnette is great, the roads are quiet (mostly), beautiful scenery :
-cols of Allos, Champs, Cayolle, about 120 km, 3200m
-from Jausiers: cols Larche, Lombarda, Bonnette, about 160 km, 4300m
-Bonnette, down do St Delmas, col de la Moutière, then a short dirt road takes you back to the Bonnette road and down to Jausiers (about 100 km and 2700m)
and more, as they say (col de Vars, Parpaillon, south toward Digne,...)

From the Maurienne it's less obvious, you can do the Marmotte loop, and the shorter Mollard, Croiix-de-Fer, Glandon. But lots of other great climbs. I dont know the valley very well though.

Consider something like Annecy or la Clusaz, lots of nice reasonably short loops. Eg from la Clusaz: col de Croix-Fry, Plan-Bois (from Manigod to les Clefs), Marais, turn left to Epine, Arpettaz (from Soney to Héry, one of the best), up Aravis. Slightly over 100km and maybe 3200m.
Or down to Pt-Bornand, Termine, up to sommet d'Andey (! 1km at 16%), Brizon, col de Solaizon and back, Mt Saxonnex, down to Cluses, col de Romme, then Colombière, a bit over 100 km and under 3000m. plenty more...

I would do a couple locations, 3-4 days each, rather than one longish stay.

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jekyll man
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by jekyll man

Something along the Annecy-Albertville corridor, or up towards Flumet etc.

Great riding out of the door as basilic says, and amenities too.
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c50jim
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by c50jim

I think your not driving comment makes a real challenge. I did a tour in the French Alps last year. One guy left early from around Briancon and spent a day getting from there to Geneva. Another's girlfriend was arriving to meet us in Jausiers (near Barcelonette) and it took her a long time to get there from Nice. So, I'd suggest that you start by finding out what your transport options are. Once you know how to connect places, you can plan accordingly. If you can afford taxes, that would make transitions easier but it would probably be cheaper to rent a car.

Since you're in mountain valleys, it's easier to get in lots of rides if you can move around. Bourg d'Oisans can be hard to find accommodation around Marmotte and Tour dates. We ended up in les Deux Alpes for three nights. I don't know if I'd want to end every ride with that climb so Bourg d'Oisans would be better. I think all the places you could stay - Bourg d'Oisans, Briancon, Barcelonette, St. Jean de Maurienne - are only good for two to three nights unless you are prepared to hit the same roads several times. It's a great place to ride but it really is easier if you can find a group to join.

LionelB
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by LionelB

dolophonic wrote:Barcelonnette..lots of great rides from there

This.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

@c50jim: Echo your comments about having to finish every ride with a climb back you your hotel in les Deux Alpes, having stayed there as well. But with more than a few people commenting on Barcelonette, even though I've not stayed there yet, it is at the top of my list if I get back there on my own versus some supported tour of sorts.
Last edited by Calnago on Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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colster
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by colster

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm sure there are great rides everywhere so at the moment am just thinking more about the logistical aspects of where to hit rather than trying to cram in as much as possible with multiple locations.
@c50jim you really hit the nail on the head for me in that travelling alone without a car limits my options as I could end up wasting days in convoluted transfers just to get a couple of valleys away, so in that sense I am really keen on choosing a maximum of 1 or 2 bases. Repeating rides does not bother me so much if they really are great roads - when I stayed in Bormio I went up the Stelvio 3 times and certainly wasn't bored by it.

Lots of people talking up Barcolonette so am gonna check out the logistics of travel to and from there

jvanv8
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by jvanv8

Colster, although I'm glazing through your situation, I would certainly +1 basilic's recommendation. Then after that, I'd multiply it by a factor of e. He does some superb rides in the French Alps and any recommendation he makes certainly makes the rest of us look for a pen and a pad of paper. I could add a few fun spots that I enjoyed over the years but Basilic is like drinking from the source.
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basilic
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by basilic

;-) jvanv
Barcelonnette has no rail connection, but buses from Marseille or Gap
http://www.barcelonnette.com/venir-a-barcelonnette/hiver-en-bus.html

how about this: travel light, with a revelate-style bag or small backpack. Train to Gap or Chorges or Embrun (look it up on viamichelin), and just ride your bike to B. Stay 3-4 nights. Pack your stuff and ride over col de Vars to Guillestre or Château-Queyras. Stay at least a day and ride Izoard and Agnel, maybe Risoul (haven't done that) and the dead-end Queyras valleys. Pack again and ride to Briançon (you can stay there too: N side of Izoard, col de Granon, col de l'Echelle to Bardonecchia which opens more possibilities...). Then ride up Lautaret and down to la Grave or Bourg (there is a bus service too, <2h) and stay 3-4 days there. Then roll down to Grenoble.

can you tell I'm chomping at the bit...

colster
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Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

That's certainly some food for thought basilic, thanks for that.
As I'm travelling from the UK I could take my bike on the Eurostar direct to Bourg St. Maurice and start journeying from there.
Makes the idea of flying and then schlepping a bike box around in buses and on taxis seem a lot less appealing. Of course loading up with bags will mean added weight, so would try and use valley roads a much as possible when fully loaded

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tinchy
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by tinchy

albertvile/beaufort/areche

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