Por el camino

 Vif: esta pequeña localidad de la región de Isère está rodeada de un impresionante paisaje montañoso. Es un destino ideal para los amantes de la naturaleza, ya que ofrece rutas de senderismo fantásticas y un ambiente tranquilo para relajarse después de un día de Tour. No te pierdas el Museo Champollion, que celebra el vínculo de la ciudad con el descifrador de la piedra de Rosetta, y añade un toque histórico a tu visita.

Courchevel: esta localidad cobra vida durante el Tour y atrae a los aficionados, no solo por sus pistas de esquí de primera categoría, sino también por su animado ambiente alpino. Disfruta de impresionantes vistas a la montaña mientras te relajas en acogedores espacios après-ski, que combinan descanso y diversión tras animar a los ciclistas. Recorre sus exclusivas boutiques y disfruta de la alta gastronomía local, ideal para desconectar con estilo.

ISÈRE (38)

Region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Population: 1,264,979 (15.7% of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

Prefecture: Grenoble

Sub-prefectures: Vienne, La Tour du Pin

Number of communes: 521

Surface area: 7,431 Km² (11pc of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

Specialities: Grenoble walnuts (AOC), St Marcellin (IGP cheese), Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage (AOP cheese), ravioles, Chartreuse liqueur, Bonnat chocolates, antésite, wines: Coteaux du Grésivaudan, Balmes Dauphinoises, Collines Rhodaniennes (IGP wines), Vitis Vienna (Vienne wines), Vercors trout, mountain meats (beef, lamb), gratin dauphinois, brioche de Bourgoin, murçon (charcuterie)...

Sports clubs: FC Grenoble (rugby), Brûleurs de loups (ice hockey), GF38 (football), CSBJ (rugby), Les bruleurs, Ours de Villard (hockey), Rugby Sassenage Isère (women's rugby).

Competitions: La Foulée blanche in Autrans, Ut4M (Ultra tour des 4 massifs), Trail des passerelles du Monteynard, Echappée belle (Ultra traversée de Belledonne), EuroNordicWalk Vercors, Grand Duc-trail de Chartreuse, La Marmotte in Alpe d'Huez (gran fondo)

Festivals: Coupe Icare in St Hilaire du Touvet / Alpe d'Huez Film Festival(comedy film festival in Isère) / Berlioz Festival in la Côte Saint-André / Jazz à Vienne, Autrans Mountain Film Festival/ Vélo Vert Festival in Villard de Lans / Tomorrowland in l'Alpe d'Huez.

Economy: Industry, electronics, digital, micro and nanoelectronics, IT, research, health, hydroelectricity, chemicals and the environment, energy, spa treatments, tourism

Main tourist attractions: Grande Chartreuse monastery, Perret Tower, Fort de la Bastille and Grenoble Bubbles, Fort Barraux, Pont-en-Royans hanging houses, Lake Monteynard with its Himalayan footbridges, Mont Aiguille (cradle of mountaineering), the medieval towns of Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye and Crémieux, Vizille castle (cradle of the French Revolution), La Mure miniature train...

Websites and social networks: www.alpesishere.com / www.cyclo-alpes.com / www.isere.fr

  Isère is France's 2nd largest département in terms of altitude (3,954 m). Here, the altitude range is between 134 m and 4,088 m (Pic Lory). With its varied landscapes, from the peaks of the Ecrins to the banks of the Rhône, nature is everywhere in Isère: - 3 nature parks (Vercors, Chartreuse and Écrins) and the largest nature reserve in France (Haut Plateaux du Vercors). - 150 sensitive natural areas, including 19 outstanding departmental nature reserves - numerous lakes (Paladru, Laffrey, Monteynard and its Himalayan footbridges) and other, steeper lakes, such as Lac Achard, Lac du Crozet, Lac Blanc, etc. - high altitude resorts (l'Alpe d'Huez, les 2 Alpes, les 7 Laux, Chamrousse...) and mid-range mountain resorts.  

The cultural heritage is just as rich: the Grenoble Bastille and its bubbles, the Château de Vizille, the Grande Chartreuse monastery, Vienne and its ancient theatre, Saint Antoine l'Abbaye... these are just some of the emblematic sites in Isère, along with 70 museums, including 11 free departmental museums! One of these is the Champollion Museum in Vif. Housed in the Champollion family estate, it presents the life and work of the famous Egyptologist, as well as a temporary exhibition this summer entitled "Curious Mummies". Tourism in Isère, of course, but also sport, outdoor sport in particular: the surrounding mountains offer an extraordinary playground for cycling (on roads and mountain bike trails), climbing or trails such as the Echappée belle ultra trail in August. In winter, ski events take over, including the Foulée blanche and the Belle étoile. There are also more than 2,000 gourmet products available under the "Nos produits IS HERE" brand, all produced by Isère farmers and guaranteed to be locally sourced, ethically and responsibly.

Km 6.7: Vizille (pop. 7,700)
An ancient oppidum that resisted the Romans, the town was given its first castle in the early Middle Ages by the Counts of Grésivaudan, but the population also depended on the bishops of Grenoble, against whom it rose in rebellion in 1378. On 21 July 1788, following the "Journée des Tuiles" (Tiles Day) on 7 June, a group of notables from the Grenoble region organised the Vizille Assembly, bringing together 50 priests, 165 nobles and 276 representatives of the Third Estate. The assembly called for the Estates-General to be convened and for them to vote by head. In 1815, it was again in Vizille that Napoleon, on his return from Elba, convinced the royalist troops to join him during the Hundred Days. In the meantime, the textile and metal industries have made the town prosper, with factories benefiting from abundant, high-quality water (hydroelectric power), while in the 20th century the château became a holiday residence for the Presidents of the Republic. Thierry Claveyrolat, best climber in the 1990 Tour de France, was nicknamed the "Eagle of Vizille". Winner of two stages of the Tour, he took his own life in the nearby village of Notre-Dame-de-Mésage.  

Château de Vizille and Museum of the French Revolution

Foundation: built in the 15th century.
History: it was the former château of François de Bonne (1543-1626), Duke of Lesdiguières, comrade-in-arms of the King of France, Henry IV, governor of the Delphine province and last Constable of France... and much later, residence of the Presidents of the French Republic before being sold to the Departmental Council of Isère in 1973. At the end of the 18th century, Claude Périer bought it and set up a fabric printing factory. On 21 July 1788, the Assembly of the three orders of the province (meeting of the Estates General of the Dauphiné), which had been banned from meeting in Grenoble, met in his Salle de Jeu de Paume (Tennis Court Hall). Its deliberations were to play a decisive role in sparking the events of 1789. Until 1895, it was the propertý of the Périers, then passed from hand to hand, ending up in the hands of the State in 1924.
Current purpose: in 1983, in preparation for the bicentenary celebrations, the Museum of the French Revolution was set up in several rooms of the château. It houses collections of works of art, decorative arts and historical objects. A documentation centre and library provide access to a rich collection of some twenty thousand works.
Special features: the grounds of the Vizille Departmental Estate are the leading tourist destination in Isère. Covering around a hundred hectares, designed in the 19th century, it was listed as a historical monument on 23 August 1991, along with the animal park and the bee museum.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1962 (castle) and 1991 (mill).

Km 32.5: Bourg-d'Oisans (Pop: 3,500) 
Once situated on the shores of a vanished lake, this town is known to Tour fans as the starting point for the climb to Alpe d'Huez. Renowned for its slate, minerals and peddlers, it is an Alpine resort from which former slalom champion Fabienne Serrat and former Olympic snowboarding champion Isabelle Blanc hail. Le Bourg-d'Oisans has hosted the Tour de France twenty times, with nineteen starts and only one finish (1966). In 2018, the peloton set off from the town towards Valence, where Peter Sagan won.  Because of its location, Bourg d'Oisans is also the starting point for many Gran Fondo events, some of which are among the most popular in the world.  

Écrins National Park  The Écrins National Park (91,800 ha), created in 1973, stretches between the towns of Gap (12 km as the crow flies), Briançon (13 km) and Grenoble (23 km). It is bounded by the valleys of the Romanche, Guisane, Durance and Drac rivers. It was in Oisans that the park project was born in 1913 with the purchase by the State of 4,000 hectares of mountain above Saint-Christophe-d'Oisans. The Écrins National Park is one of France's ten national parks and has been designated a European High Mountain Park by the Council of Europe.

Km 39.6: Verney Dam
The Verney dam was originally built and operated by the Société hydroélectrique de l'Eau d'Olle, founded in Lancey in 1907 by Maurice Bergès, son of Aristide Bergès, mayor of Villard-Bonnot. The dam, with a capacity of over 16,000 bhp, was responsible for the construction in 1909 of the first 60,000-volt high-voltage line between Grenoble and Saint-Chamond, one of the country's first major electrical installations.

SAVOIE (73)

Region: Auvergne Rhône-Alpes
Population: 442,500
Surface area: 6,028 km²
Number of cantons: 19
Number of communes: 273
Prefecture: Chambéry (59,629 inhabitants)
Sub-prefectures: Albertville, St-Jean-de-Maurienne
Specialities: Raclette, tartiflette, fondue, crozets (square-shaped pasta made from buckwheat flour), diots and pormoniers (pork sausages cooked in white wine), Saint-Genix (brioche with red pralines), Savoy cake, chocolate truffles, bugnes (doughnuts), génépi (mountain plant liqueur), Savoie cheeses (Tome des Bauges, Beaufort).
Sport: Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc Handball (D1), AG2R-Citroën team (cycling), Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket (ProB).
Events: Alpine World Ski Championships Courchevel-Méribel 2023, Mountain Bike World Championships-Les Gets, August 2022. Albertville 1992 Winter Olympics, 2030 Winter Olympics.
Heritage: Hautecombe abbey (on the banks of Lake Bourget), Dukes of Savoy Castle (Chameéry), Esseillon barrier forts (Haute Maurienne), Vanoise national park, Bauges and Chartreuse regional nature parks, Lake Bourget, Lake Aiguebelette, etc.
Economy: tourism, agri-food, eco-industries, mountain industries, composite materials, information and communication technologies, metalworking, etc.
Culture: Musilac in Aix-les-Bains, Les Estivales en Savoie in Chambéry, Le Grand Bivouac in Albertville, Les Arcs European Film Festival, etc.
Websites and social networks: www.savoie.fr / https://www.facebook.com/SavoieDepartement/ / https://twitter.com/SavoieDepart / https://www.savoie-mont-blanc.com/ / https://www.facebook.com/savoiemontblancFR/@savoiemontblancFR / https://twitter.com/SavoieMontBlanc / @SavoieMontBlanc #SavoieMontBlanc / https://www.pinterest.fr/savoiemontblanc/ / https://www.instagram.com/savoiemontblanc/ / https://www.youtube.com/user/SavoieMontBlanc

Km 70.2: Saint-Colomban-les-Villards (Pop: 190)
These are the two villages in the Villards Valley: Saint-Colomban and Saint-Alban des Villards. Ideally situated in winter, the Vallée des Vilards is the first gateway to Les Sybelles, one of France's great ski areas with 310 km of pistes.

Km 84.8: La Chambre (Pop: 1,150)
With a population of 1,200, this small town is the administrative centre of a canton offering a wide range of activities. It is located on the route of the famous Madeleine and Glandon mountain passes, close to winter and summer sports resorts. Over the years, the town has successfully developed a harmonious mix of commerce, industry (the ARKEMA petrochemical plant) and agriculture, while at the same time offering a very pleasant living environment thanks to its flower beds, which were awarded a First Flower in the "Villes et Villages fleuris" (Towns and Villages in Bloom) competition in 2014.

Km 104.6: Col de la Madeleine
At an altitude of 2,000 metres, the Col de la Madeleine links the Tarentaise valley to the Maurienne. Rated as a non-category climb, it is a classic of the Tour de France, which has climbed it 26 times since 1969. Lucien Van Impe and Richard Virenque have both led at the summit on three occasions, which sums up the difficulty of the climb. The last time the Tour climbed it, in 2018, it was Julian Alaphilippe, then in the hunt for the polka-dot jersey, who came out on top.

Km 133.6: Grand-Aigueblanche (Pop: 3,800)
This commune is the result of the merger of Aigueblanche, Le Bois and Saint-Oyen in 2019. Aigueblanche takes its name from the turbulent waters of the Morel, now channelled into a beautiful waterfall. Today, the Morel is a peaceful mountain stream, one of the wonders of the Alps, according to connoisseurs. Yet for centuries, it was one of the most formidable torrents in Savoie. Men had to deploy ardour and ingenuity to protect themselves from the ravages of this torrent. A colossal structure 1 km long was needed to contain it. Today, a footpath has been laid out. Its architectural heritage includes two former fortified houses, the 13th-century Aigueblanche manor house in the centre of the village and the 14th-century Bellecombe fortified house on the road to Moûtiers. There's also the beautiful baroque church of Saint-Martin de Villargerel.

Church of Saint-Martin de Villargerel
Construction: 17th century.
Style: Baroque.
History: built from 1682 by a master mason, Jean Meilleur, to plans by architect Nicolas Deschamps, the church has a central "Greek cross" plan. Three polygonal apses and a stone porch make up the rest of the building. In 1707, Jacques Clérant, a sculptor from Chambéry, created the main altarpiece, comprising six columns dividing the various parts of the triptych. The centre of the altarpiece is decorated with a painting depicting the Crucifixion.
Current use: the church of Saint-Martin de Villargerel hosts classical concerts as part of the "Chemins du Baroque", a summer cultural event to showcase the town's heritage.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1943.

Km 141.3: Les Belleville (Pop: 2,500)
Created in 2016 from the merger of the communes of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and Villarlurin. The ski resorts of Val Thorens, Les Ménuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville are administratively part of Les Belleville. The commune boasts an attractive Baroque heritage, the jewel in its crown being the Notre-Dame-de-la-Vie chapel, listed as a historical monument in 1949.