Holiday in France 5 - Routes des Grandes Alpes - Tignes
Leaving Derek's house in the morning we drove through Bourg-Saint-Maurice and up into the Iseran Valley towards the Col de l'Iseran. We unwittingly followed the Route des Grandes Alpes for nearly the whole time we were down in the mountains. This was a series of roads created by the French Touring Club and finished in 1937, starting in Geneva and ending in Menton on the Mediterranean coast. It opened the area up to tourism and allowed the local population to reach the outside world more easily. With the coming of the autoroutes these rather narrow and precipitous roads are fairly free of traffic. Alan wanted to cycle up to the Col de l'Iseran (2770m) so he left me and Hettie in upper Tignes, which was deserted apart from a few workmen who were engaged on the lifts and residences in village. There is something very depressing about a ski town in summer. The high rise accommodation is usually never that well designed and the mountainside looks a mess where the runs have been...
