Читать книгу Cycle Touring in France. Eight tours in Brittany, Picardy, Alsace, Auvergne/Languedoc, Provence, Dordogne/Lot, the Alps and the Pyrenees онлайн

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Best time to visit

Summer, and harvest time in autumn.

May and June are normally the wettest months. Winters are cold, and it quite often snows until early spring in the high, forested hills of the Vosges, situated to the west of Colmar and Strasbourg.

Route 4 An Alpine Experience

Character and terrain

Starting in Geneva and finishing in Grenoble, this route crosses Haute-Savoie with a gradual ascent up the Gorge des Eveaux and scenic climbs to the Col du Marais and Col de Tamié before reaching Albertville, home to the Winter Olympics in 1992. The first of three tough climbs encountered on the Tour de France awaits you, to the Col de la Madeleine (2000m above sea level). A giant descent to the Arc Valley is then followed by another magnificent climb to the Col de la Croix de Fer (2067m) with splendid mountain views. The third and final climb is the unforgiving l'Alpe d'Huez (with 21 hairpin bends). As a reward there is a refreshing 25km descent to Vizille with a visit to its grand château, and from there on to Grenoble.