P'tites Routes du Soleil

Waytypes of the cycle route
Surface of the cycle route
The cycle route through France’s Alpine foothills, or Préalpes
The P’tites Routes du Soleil® cycle route sticks to the western edges of the French Alps, crossing a whole series of French Alpine foothills – Préalpes, or pre-alpine ranges – namely the Chablais, Chartreuse, Vercors, Diois, Baronnies and Buëch, as well as the Préalpes de Digne, de Castellane and de Nice further south. In all these pre-alpine ranges, communities settled far back in time and developed deeply rooted mountain traditions in remarkable harmony with their natural environment. Riding through these ranges you’ll encounter a whole variety of sensational, diverse landscapes, from forests and unspoilt plateaux to perched villages and lavender fields. All around, breathtaking limestone formations rise up. It’s no surprise that the first geopark listed by UNESCO was in the département, or French county, of Haute-Provence, around the town of Digne-les-Bains.
Cycle north to south or south to north
Along this beautiful cycle route forming a great arc on the map. As to car traffic, it is usually minimal along the route. As with its greater sibling, the Route des Grandes Alpes®, you can tackle the P’tites Routes du Soleil® north to south or south to north. Depending on your level of fitness and the challenge you wish to take on, it’s easy to group together a series of stages. Some of these are under 40km in length. While you should always consult the weather forecast before setting out, you’re unlikely to be caught out by significant snowfall or extreme weather conditions in these pre-alpine ranges.
Easier with e-bikes!
To make the route more accessible to a wider number of cyclists, there are recharging points for e-bikes (vélos à assistance électrique, or VAEs, in French) dotted along the way, roughly every 30-40km. This means that people with different levels of fitness and experience can enjoy the adventure together if heading out as a group, some using conventional bikes, others e-bikes. Riding an e-bike makes tackling major mountain passes manageable, offering cyclists a good balance between effort and enjoyment!

Thonon-les-Bains / Boëge
In Haute-Savoie, between Lake Geneva and the Vallée Verte area, cycle along following the Franco-Swiss border, perched [...]

Boëge / La Muraz
The cycle route continues alongside the Menoge River via the Col des Pitons, heading for Mont Salève (1,335m), a kind [...]

La Muraz / Desingy
Having tackled Mont Salève, you come to one of the easiest stretches along the P’tites Routes du Soleil® cycle [...]

Desingy / Entrelacs
You now come to the Albanais area, marked by curvaceous valleys offering grandiose views of the French Alps. These [...]

Entrelacs / Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu
Climbing to the Montagne de l’Épine, make the most of views from on high over France’s largest natural lake, 18km [...]

Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu / Lépin-le-Lac
You now head from one major French Alpine lake to another! Cycle along this stage to reach the banks of Lac [...]

Lépin-le-Lac / Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont
From Lépin-le-Lac, you ride below the Massif de l’Épine Range to reach Les Échelles. You’re now at the gateway [...]

Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont / Grenoble
Here, the P’tites Routes du Soleil® cycle route guides you into the mountainous lands of the original medieval [...]

Grenoble / Villard-de-Lans
The climb to Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte (1,168m) taking you up from Grenoble to the Vercors Plateau is well known for [...]

Villard-de-Lans / Die
Reaching the Diois area via the P’tites Routes du Soleil® promises a complete change of scenery and a southern [...]

Die / Valdrôme
The Diois area certainly won’t provide you with a flat cycling stage! In fact, its charm comes from the contrasts [...]

Valdrôme / Valdoule
From the Haut Diois area to the Oule Valley, the P’tites Routes du Soleil® crosses into the département, or French [...]

Valdoule / Garde-Colombe
The P’tites Routes du Soleil® leaves behind the Oule Valley to enter the Pays Rosannais area. Although this stage [...]

Garde-Colombe / Salérans
Partly covering the Route des Princes d’Orange linking the town of Orange (by the Rhône in the département, or [...]

Salérans / Sisteron
There are two marvels to relish on this stage of the P'tites routes du Soleil®: the descent through the bottom of the [...]

Sisteron / Digne-les-Bains
From Sisteron, embark on one of the longest climbs along the whole P’tites Routes du Soleil® cycle route. Why not [...]

Digne-les-Bains / Tartonne
While Sisteron marks your arrival in the département of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Pays Dignois lies at the heart of [...]

Tartonne / Saint-André-les-Alpes
The P’tites Routes du Soleil® cycle route takes you quietly into the Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon with its heady [...]

Saint-André-les-Alpes / Saint-Auban
The P’tites Routes du Soleil® offers you a lovely cycling trip here, taking you from the département, or French [...]

Saint-Auban / Les Ferres
The P’tites Routes du Soleil® here makes use of the Tour des Préalpes d’Azur cycle route, crossing the regional [...]

Les Ferres / Nice
From the Col des Ferres (a pass at 596m), the P’tites Routes du Soleil® leads you over to the south side of Le [...]
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