Last autumn, I went on a car trip through the Bauges valley near Annecy, visiting points of interest along the way. The first stop was the Pont de l’Abîme (literally Abyss Bridge), a suspension bridge linking the villages of Cusy and Gruffy. It was built in 1887 to cross the gorge formed by the Chéran river, 96m below.
Last autumn, I went on a hike to Montagne de Lachat, in Dingy-Saint-Clair. It is located beneath the cliffs of Parmelan and the summit offers a great view on the mountain.
After crossing the Pont de la Caille, I went back to Annecy on foot, following trails I found on OpenStreetMap.
The Pont de la Caille (aka Pont Charles-Albert) is a suspension bridge linking the villages of Allonzier-la-Caille and Cruseilles in Haute-Savoie, on the path between Annecy and Geneva. It was built in 1839 to cross the gorge formed by the Usses river, 147m below. A second bridge, the Pont Neuf (aka Pont Caquot) was added in 1928 to support train and car traffic.
Last Autumn, I went on a hike to the so-called “3 Têtes” of the Bornes mountains: Tête Noire, Tête Ronde and Tête de l’Arpettaz.
At the end of the summer of last year, I went on a hike to Col d’Anterne and Lac de Pormenaz, in the Giffre mountains not far from the Mont Blanc. I basically followed this itinerary (in the other direction).
Last summer, I went on a hike near Chamonix to the Baraque Forestière des Rognes, a tiny emergency hut located between the much bigger Refuge de Tête Rousse, where most mountaineers stop on their way to the summit of Mont Blanc, and Nid d’Aigle, a hut at the terminus of Tramway du Mont Blanc. I followed this trail direction (except I started and ended at the Bellevue cable car station): Sentier des Rognes on the way up and a path along Glacier de Bionnassay on the way down.
The Parc du Taillefer is a park in Cran-Gevrier (Annecy). Its elevated position offers a good view on Annecy and the surrounding mountains. The entrance is next to Lycée Charles Baudelaire, not far from the exit of Parcours Nature Fier et Erbe.
The Château de Miolans (Miolans Castle) is a fortress in the Bauges mountains above Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny, Savoie. It was built during the Middle Ages and was converted to a prison by the Duchy of Savoy after they acquired it in the 16th century. Its most famous prisoner was probably writer (and notorious pervert) Marquis de Sade: He was arrested in 1772 in Chambéry and placed under guard at Miolans, until he escaped a few months later.
Last summer, a few weeks after riding my bike from La Féclaz to Albens, I came back to the Bauges mountains. This time, I rode from the Semnoz plateau to Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny in Savoie.