La Belle Via

Description All stages Reviews

Canals & intimate rivers

1 week or more

280 Km

I cycle often

Seyssel / Aix-les-Bains

Valence

La Belle Via is a majestic major cycle route that wends its way through the mountainous départements (French counties) of Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isère and Drôme. This, though, is an easy cycle route, accessible to very many cyclists, going through the heart of broad Alpine valleys, offering beautiful views first of Mont Blanc, then, moving south, the mountain ranges of the Jura, Bauges, Chartreuse, Belledonne and Vercors, providing ever-changing backdrops. The whole experience proves extraordinary, taking in a wonderful variety of landscapes and atmospheres, including lakes, orchards, towns and countryside. Along the way, there are many places to stop at, be it to go swimming from beaches along Lac d’Annecy or Lac du Bourget, to visit cultural or culinary sites, or to enjoy discovering riverside locations along the Isère. It’s also possible to create a cycling circuit by linking up with the ViaRhôna cycle route.

Elevation of the route

885 m 543 m

Waytypes of the cycle route

Cycle path: 168,52 km By road: 156,25 km Unknown: 5,63 km

Surface of the cycle route

Smooth: 238,86 km Rough: 32,81 km Unknown: 58,73 km

La Belle Via, either from La Balme-de-Sillingy or from Chanaz to Valence (passing through the départements, or French counties, of Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isère and Drôme)

INFORMATION | SERVICES | ACCES

info General information

Signposting: signposting is being put in place bit by bit along La Belle Via. All the signposting will signal the national numbering for this cycle route, V62/V63, along its whole length.

Good to know: La Belle Via provides links to the ViaRhôna EuroVelo 17, in the north, at Chanaz, and in the south, at Pont de l’Isère. So, it’s possible to plan a bike trekking holiday on a large circuit involving both ViaRhôna and La Belle Via: from Valence, Chanaz and, in the future, from Seyssel too.

Lenght: depending on the section of cycle route you choose

From Chanaz – 15km up to Pont de l’Isère or 225km up to Valence
From la Balme-de-Sillingy – 270km up to Pont de l’Isère or 280km up to Valence

Duration: between four and eight days, depending on the sections chosen and your cycling speed

Level of difficulty: easy, as this cycle route involves very little shift in altitude, except for a few slopes on leaving the Isère riverside.
If you wish to tackle a shorter section for a bike trekking holiday, note that the Tour des Bauges à Vélo is a cycling circuit that takes you along quite a few stages of La Belle Via, from Aix les Bains to Annecy via Chambéry, Montmélian and Albertville, followed by a return to Aix les Bains transporting your bike on a TER regional train.

hotel Services

Accueil Vélo accreditation, for service providers catering specifically to cyclists, is being organized at time of writing.

train Access to La Belle Via

This cycle route can be reached via a large number of SNCF (French national railways) high-speed TGV / or regional TER train services, with stations dotted along the way, including:

With your bike, without having to dismantle it: by reservation only for TGV Inoui high-speed trains (the fee per bike €10 at time of writing) but bikes go free on TER regional trains

To Annecy :