Rhone-Alpes
Your stay in Rhône-Alpes, between river and mountain
If like Rousseau, you are fond of “torrents, rocks, fir trees, dark woods and hiking up and down rough footpaths...”, head for a stay in Rhône-Alpes!
Rhône-Alpes, a link between plain and mountain
The Rhône-Alpes Region shows a strange combination, that of a large river with a mountain range. A subtle blend of the flowing and the immutable, the region offers up a whole parade of landscapes and thrills. Dominating the Saône Valley, the soggy Dombes area spreads its lakes and ponds as far as the Lyon suburbs.
To the West, the Rhône Valley vineyards enjoy their world renown, while the East boasts its Mont Blanc which dominates the entire region. The South too, has some tourist assets: the dizzying depths of the Ardèche Gorges, the Vercors’ mock hostility, the tranquil expanse of the Vivarais.
Rhône-Alpes: altitude and oxygen
Throughout the Alps, over 6,000 kilometres of ski slopes await you. The world’s largest skiing area has what it takes to satisfy the most demanding athletes. Despite their glory days, Olympic star resorts like Chamonix, Grenoble and Albertville succeeded in remaining wild and welcoming to all: those who find exhilaration in the powder snow, as well as those who have fun among the grassy inclines in spring and summer when the region goes from white to green.
Touring the lakes in La Vanoise Park, trekking to the Mont d'Aiguille, wandering to the core of the Ardèche Cévennes mountains... Not one landscape resembles the other. Like the waters, they can be peaceful one minute, and roaring the next.
Howling as they flow in hefty jerks towards the thirty waterfalls of the Fer à Cheval near Sixt in the Haute-Savoie, impetuous as they hurtle down the gorges, they become gentle and rippling as they reach the lakes in Geneva, Annecy and Nantua.
Relics from the past in Rhône-Alpes
A region of art and history, Rhône-Alpes has retained the signs of its successive residents. From prehistoric times, the rock face paintings in the Chauvet Caves. From Medieval times, the sumptuous village of Crémieu. From Renaissance times, the Bâtie d'Urfé castle or the Saint-Jean neighbourhood in Lyon that witnessed the silk trade’s finest hours.
Also not to be missed: the Dukes’ Castle in Chambéry, the forts of La Maurienne, the Château of Tournon in the Ardèche, watching over both the town and the Rhône, the Cistercian Abbey of Aiguebelle in the Drôme and more.
A taste of “cork” in Rhône-Alpes restaurants
On the menu during your halts: raclette, fondue and wines from the Savoie, quenelles in Nantua sauce, Bresse chicken cooked in cream, Gratin Dauphinois. Not to forget the delicate raviolis of Romans. Many great Chefs were born in the region and gave it its reputation.
Lyon would rather invite you into its "bouchons" (literally “corks”), places where one can very simply enjoy hot sausage – plain, or with truffle or pistachio – and that tripe which is called locally “the sapper’s apron”. Two dishes which, in good restaurants, are served with a jug of specially selected Beaujolais or Côtes du Rhône.
Discover Rhône-Alpes, a multi-facetted region, and book your stay in a Logis hotel restaurant.
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