At the beginning of spring, I went on a walk around Annecy, trying to stay on parks and green spaces. Not a complete success but close enough…
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.
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.
After leaving the Lyon Confluence area, I walked along the Rhône on the way to the Old Town of Lyon (Vieux Lyon), making a few detours here and there.
Lyon Confluence is the neighbourhood of Lyon located south of the Lyon-Perrache train station, and north of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Until not very long ago, it was an area solely dedicated to industry and full of warehouses, but after a few years of construction and millions of euros in investment, the urban-renewal project has brought new shops, restaurants, offices, housing and a new museum (Musée des Confluences).
Above, Le Cube Orange.
The Vallon du Fier is a large park and nature reserve in Annecy, located between the Fier and Viéran rivers. It has many paths suitable for walking or biking.
After I reached the Passerelles neighbourhood in Cran-Gévrier and the end of the path along the Thiou river, I kept walking on the road until the start of the Parcours Nature Fier et Erbe (Fier & Erbe Nature Trail). It is a path in the forest that follows the course of the Fier river at first, then the Erbe, a brook that flows into the Fier. Here is a map.
The Thiou is a short river (3.5 km) that flows from Lake Annecy to the Fier, which is itself a tributary of the Rhône. Starting from the Old Town of Annecy, built in the middle of canals formed by the Thiou, there is a series of paths along the river that go all the way to Cran-Gévrier, slightly before it joins with the Fier.
Starting from the Cube Houses in Oudehaven, I first crossed the Nieuwe Maas on the way to Noordereiland, using the Willemsbrug bridge. I then continued to Wilhleminaplein and, after a detour through Rijnhaven, reached the Hotel New York and the tip of Kop van Zuid. Finally, I crossed the river again on the Erasmusbrug.
Starting from my hotel near Oudehaven, I walked along the Nieuwe Maas river until Leuvehaven and the Maritime Museum. Then I made a detour through the Westersingel canal, on the way to Het Park, where the Euromast is located. I had planned to visit the observatory, but I decided to postpone because of the fog. Instead, I walked back to Erasmusbrug along the river.