CAVEAT FOR OTHERS: restaurants in this region (even in Lyon!) are largely closed on Sunday (and often Monday as well!)
- Friday: Short stop in Aix-les-Bains, walking around Chambéry
- Saturday: Hike from Col du Granier, south of Chambéry in the Chartreuse mountains
- Sunday: day trip to Lyon for food ("Gourmet Capital of France") and the old town
- Monday: visit to Gorges du Fier and very short stop in Annecy for lunch and to look around, finished with bouldering and a drink in Lausanne
Regional map for context:
For what it's worth, I made good use of my French (asking where the machines for TER tickets were, how to stamp my ticket, how this girl had managed to stamp hers, and telling the conductor that I had tried to stamp it and it had failed) up until Aix-les-Bains, where I was asked a question I wasn't sure how I'd answer even in English ("Are you here for the tour?" In my head -- what tour? Does it cost anything? Do I want to go on a tour of Aix-les-Bains?).
Aix-les-Bains
Since I have time off, I went down early on Friday and stopped first in Aix-les-Bains, which feels like a French Alpine version of Baden-Baden...which makes sense, as that is roughly what it is. A spa town, full of old people seeking treatments for rheumatism. Lots of clinics and rehab and some schools for "thermal medicine".
Chambéry
On to Chambéry to wander around. It is a cute town, very alive, lots of industry around it and a cute old/center town. Saw the "famous" elephant fountain. The savoy region flag reminds a bit of the Swiss flag (or the Danish flag).
Saturday: Hike from Col du Granier, south of Chambéry in the Chartreuse mountains
This hike was...demanding. I was really glad to have bought hiking poles right before this trip. Didn't see the giant fossil, maybe that was the point of the first small detour. Took at least an hour break, and with that in mind, actually kept the pace suggested by the hiking guide. I highly recommend these hiking guides --- by Rother Wanderfuhrer, they have GPX coordinates for all tours and hikes in three grades (this was "intermediate" (red)) and many regions. This is from the book for the Savoy Alps. Not all tiles are available in English.
Pictures semi-chronological. Is a loop starting and ending at Col du Granier, here seen from roughly halfway, in the back right of the picture.
A story about this peak (the Col du Granier):
This sharp side of the mountain was made in November of 1248, when a giant piece split off and rolled 7km in the direction of Chambéry, destroying several villages and killing at least 5000. (The Chartreuse Abbey is nearby, so maybe those are the chronicles from which these come, referenced in the hiking book)
From wikipedia: "This event created the sheer 700 m north face of the mountain. Five villages were partly or completely destroyed by the avalanche...Two villages were partially destroyed"
Sunday: day trip to Lyon for food ("Gourmet Capital of France") and the old town
Lyon! Things to know about Lyon (tourism website):
- Famous for food (Les Halles, the big food market)
- Old town with medieval walkways
- Funiculars (covered by the metro day-ticket! (6 Euros))
- 2nd largest city in France -- and it is not car-friendly
Things learned:
- Toll roads expensive in France. Chambéry to Lyon was about 12 Euros each direction.
- Parking is difficult. There is a big lot under the Perrache station, for about 20 Eur/Day. Easy Metro or Tram to anywhere in the city.
- Day ticket (6 Eur) for transit is worth it, and includes the funiculars.
Food at Les Halles
First stop was lunch at Les Halles "Lyon’s mythic indoor food market with an international reputation for offering the very finest gourmet food." A video visit. More pics on tripadvisor.
Lunch was fish and veggies at Maison Rousseau, because they had a tiny enclose salle where you could avoid some of the noise of the market. It was very light, which left lots of room for desserts.
Half the desserts were from Bahadourian, mainly lebanese (e.g. Mafrouké Libanais aux Pistaches, seen here). The non-dessert part of their food included these rather adorable mini foie gras burgers.
Half the desserts were little amuse-bouche cakes from Maison Seve.
Impressions from the market:
Old town with medieval walkways («traboules»)
After lunch, got a map from the tourist office and walked through the old town. Found one of the covered walkways by noticing a tour group clustered around a door. Timing was perfect, as there was a short rain shower, lasting the time it took us to walk through.
Miscellaneous impressions of the old town:
Found a custom-built retro E-Bike store. These are both E-Bikes:
Funiculars! There are 2 in town. We took the one up to the Church, then walked down.
There is a funicular song. My very first experience coming across a funicular (in Switzerland, between Lausanne and Vevey) involved another math graduate student singing part of the funicular song. (ya pi ya pi ya funiculi funicula funiculi funicula!)
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| view looking down to Lyon from the Church |
Ended our trip in Lyon with some tea to warm up by the river in the sun.
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| great menu |
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| the thing atop the hill is the destination of the second funicular |
Dinner back in Chambéry was at Café des Inities. In part because almost nothing was open. They had a nice menu, good prices, and awesome wine.
I had the Savoie Chardonnay (AOP Domaine Philippe Ravier) then the Bordeau Blanc (AOP Chateau Recougne). Both were really delicious.
Monday: visit to Gorges du Fier & Annecy
Les Gorges du Fier
Chateau de Montrottier: There is a story about one of the dukes of this castle, who ignored his wife to go hunting all the time and partying with his buddies. She was bored and lonely and went on long walks around the gorge with a faithful page (young guy) following her around. At some point she crossed paths with the duke one castle over, and then she started sneaking away to meet him. The page followed, saw them, reported it to the Duke of Montrottier. He laid a trap, caught them as well, but the other guy ran off on his horse. Supposedly the page caught at the horse's tail to try to stop him, guy cuts off horse's tail and escapes. Angry duke locks wife into a tower where she scratches lines to mark the days, waiting on her death. Said marks are still there.
From another blog: "The Fier River runs through the Haute-Savoie and Savoie départements. It has its sources at Mount Charvin in the Aravis Range and flows 71.9 km before it empties into the Rhône at Seyssel.[...]The suspended footbridges were completed in July 1869. Workers were transported inside barrels moved via a system of pulleys to fix solid metallic consoles into the rock walls. The track is suspended some 20 to 30 metres above and stretches 252 metres over the stream"
Something really startling to learn was that the gorges flood regularly. Which is hard to comprehend because of how wide the river valley (or flood plain) is which feeds into the gorges. It has to be a LOT of water for the gorge to then be flooded up to (and sometimes past) the walkway. Last big flood was in 2015. Learned the word for flood(s) from context. At the end of the visit is a room showing video footage from the last flood, which is pretty incredible.
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| the gorges is in Lovigny, to the west of Annecy |
Lunch in Annecy
Lunch was quick and delicious at Tête de Cochon
Followed by a little time to play tourist in the old town streets and walk to the lake (very large, very clear and clean). Took inspiration from tripadvisor and others' recommendations on things to see in one day.
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| Palais de l'Isle (it is exactly the size of the island) |
"Venice Street":
And wrapping up with the Lake of Annecy:
Bouldering and a drink in Lausanne
Lausanne is 1.5 hours from Annecy. I stopped there overnight and went bouldering for the first time (used to climb semi-regularly back in grad school. Our gym got a climbing wall after renovation) at a relatively new bouldering gym. Day pass 13 CHF, shoe renal 5 CHF. Had a bar as well, which we didn't indulge in, went to another bar afterwards for a drink i(at swiss prices! Which seemed "reasonable" until you notice it is 5 CHF for 0,1 L (instead of the normal 0,2L)).
Headed home the next day, which was a pretty long train ride. à bientôt!
