Promenade des Pertes de la Valserine

The Promenade des Pertes de la Valserine in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine is a short and easy walk that follows the Valserine, a river that takes its source in the Jura mountains and empties into the Rhône. Starting near the train station in the city, the path goes upstream to the Pertes (French for “losses”), where the river disappears in natural canyons dug into limestone rocks.

This page has proposals for additional exploration of the area (beyond simply walking there).

Above, start of the walk.

Above, Valserine.

Above, Pont du Moulin Convert.

Above, Métral dam (Barrage de Métral).

Above, machines for electricity production.

Above, fish ladder.

Above, waterfall.

Above, at the Pertes.

Above, Pont des Oulles.

Above, canyon.

Above, the rock has been shaped by past floods.

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Walk in Annecy: La Varde, Pont de La Bornale, Pont de Brogny, Vallon du Fier, Promenade du Thiou, Lake Annecy

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… Starting in Annecy-le-Vieux near L’Abbaye Espace d’art contemporain, I followed a bike / pedestrian path to La Varde then crossed the Fier river at Pont de La Bornale on the way to Pont de Brogny and the large park of Vallon du Fier nearby. I walked in the Vallon and exited at the Zone industrielle du Pont de Tasset. I crossed the Fier river again to reach Cran-Gévrier then followed the Thiou river all the way to the old town of Annecy. Finally, I arrived at Lake Annecy.

Here is the path I followed (download KML):

Above, L’Abbaye.

Above, park in front of L’Abbaye.

Above, pedestrian path. There is also a bike path alongside it.

Above, cross near Novel.

Above, donkeys.

Above, in La Varde.

Above, Montagne de la Mandallaz.

Above, Parmelan.

Above, telecom antenna on Crêt de la Varde.

Above, short forest path.

Above, horses.

Above, horse riding school near the stables.

Above, Pont de La Bornale.

Above, Fier river.

Above, another bike road.

Above, path to some kind of beach on the Fier.

Above, Fier.

Above, Viaduc Ferroviaire du Pont de Brogny (train bridge).

Above, Viaduc and Fier seen from the Pont de Brogny.

Above, Vieux Pont de Brogny (aka Petit Pont Romain) and new Pont de Brogny behind it.

Above, path in Vallon du Fier.

Above, bridge across the Fier.

Above, bridge linking the Zone industrielle du Pont de Tasset with Cran-Gévrier.

Above, Fier river.

Above, in Cran-Gévrier.

Above, Cercle de l’Eau at the Thiou river.

Above, Promenade du Thiou.

Above, La Tournette.

Above, old town of Annecy.

Above, Eglise Saint-François de Sales.

Above, Parmelan seen from Lake Annecy.

Above, La Tournette.

Above, Mont Veyrier, Mont Baron and Mont Baret.

Above, Les Marquisats.

Above, Canal du Vassé and Pont des Amours.

Above, Pâquier.

Above, at Bonlieu.

Walk in Seynod: Parc du Val Vert, Parc du Pré de Vassy

Last winter, I went on a walk in Seynod, a neighbourhood of Annecy. Coming from the old town of Annecy, I visited Parc du Val Vert and Parc du Pré de Vassy, then went back.

Above, coming from the Thiou river in Annecy.

Above, in the ZAE de Vovray – Barral – Val Vert.

Above, entrance of Parc du Val Vert.

Above, “Danger de Mort” (Danger of Death).

Above, fish tail.

Above, Bassin de Loverchy, an overflow reservoir for the Loverchy river.

Above, Loverchy river (Ruisseau de Loverchy).

Above, the grid in the reservoir is shaped like the head of a fish.

Above, a large housing development near Parc du Val Vert.

Above, Monument du Souvenir Français.

Above, Parc du Pré de Vassy.

Above, pond inside the park.

Above, Seynod city hall and public library.

Above, back at Parc du Val Vert on the way back to Annecy.

Above, Thiou river seen from the Pont Neuf in Annecy.

Promenade de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Chambéry)

The Promenade de Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a short and easy walk in Chambéry that follows the footsteps of Rousseau. It starts in the Old Town of Chambéry at Parc de la Calamine and goes up to Les Charmettes, a house where Rousseau lived with Madame de Warens between 1736 and 1742. It then loops back by passing through the Parc de Buisson-Rond and the Château de Boigne. I didn’t actually walk the whole loop: It was getting late and dark so I went down to the city directly once I reached Les Charmettes.

Here is a map of the path I walked (download KML):

Above, in Parc de la Calamine.

Above, I made a detour through the Montée de la Fontaine Saint-Martin, where there is a good view on Chambéry. I had to walk on the side of a paved road for a few minutes.

Above, Carré Curial.

Above, Dent du Nivolet.

Above, the Montée.

Above, Fontaine Saint-Martin.

Above, at Parc de l’Etincelle.

Above, Dent du Nivolet in the Bauges mountains, with its large summit cross.

Above, Dent du Chat.

Above, Mont Granier, in the Chartreuse mountains.

Above, getting dark.

Above, Les Charmettes.

Walk along Lake Geneva in Lausanne

Starting at the Tour Haldimand, I walked along Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) until I reached the EPFL campus in Écublens. On the way, I passed by the Parc du Denantou and its Thai pavillon, the Olympic Museum (although I didn’t go in), Ouchy and its castle, as well as many marinas and beaches.

Above, Tour Haldimand.

Above, Lake Geneva, looking east.

Above, fog looking west.

Above, looking towards Ouchy.

Above, Thai pavillon (Pavillon Thaïlandais) in Parc Denantou.

Above, Olympic Museum.

Above, the promenade is lined with many sculptures.

Above, in Ouchy.

Above, Château d’Ouchy, now a hotel.

Above, mountains on the French side of Lake Geneva.

Above, CGN station.

Above, CGN boat.

Above, marina.

Above, Pyramides de Vidy (built for the Swiss National Exposition of 1964).

Above, swan on a beach.