When to go to the Vercors?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: June to September and January to February (cross-country skiing)
At a glance
Why go to the Vercors?
The Vercors is the mountain range for people who don't like ski resorts. No concrete tower blocks, no chairlifts as far as the eye can see: villages with stone-slab roofs, farms with timber framing, forests of fir and beech, alpine pastures where you meet more Villard-de-Lans cows than tourists, and cliffs all around that cut the plateau off from the world. The access roads, the Gorges de la Bourne, Combe Laval and the Grands Goulets, are 19th-century masterpieces carved out over the void.
And the south of the massif, with the Hauts Plateaux reserve, is the largest roadless area in France, where you can walk for three days without seeing a car. It is the destination for families who want gentle mountains, with sledging, snowshoeing, mountain biking and caves, for cross-country and ski-touring enthusiasts in winter, for hikers and cyclists in summer, for history lovers drawn by the 1944 maquis, and for the people of Grenoble who head up at weekends. Climbers have the cliffs of Presles, cavers the Gouffre Berger, paragliders the Col de Rousset.
Those looking for glaciated high mountains, big-resort downhill skiing or nightlife should head for the large resorts; the Vercors goes to bed early and rises with the sun.
Map of the Vercors: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Villard-de-Lans
- Autrans
- Pont-en-Royans
- Vassieux-en-Vercors
- La Chapelle-en-Vercors
- Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte
How much does a trip to the Vercors cost?
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €50-70/day | €50 to €70 a day camping or in a walkers' gîte, picnics from the markets, free hikes and viewpoints, and a cave or the Memorial now and then. |
| Comfort | €110-150/day | €110 to €150 a day in a family-run hotel or B&B, a restaurant in the evening, Choranche, the Memorial, mountain-bike hire or a cross-country ski pass at €10-12 a day. |
| Premium | €200/day | from €200 a day with a boutique hotel with spa, the renowned restaurants of Villard, Corrençon and Saint-Nizier, and a guide for a day of caving, via ferrata or ski touring. The Vercors remains one of the cheapest Alpine massifs, winter included. |
Is the Vercors safe?
In the mountains, the weather changes fast: late-afternoon storms are frequent in summer, and fog on the Hauts Plateaux, with no landmarks or water, disorients you within minutes, hence the need for a map and compass. The reserve has no surface springs: carry 3 litres per person per day in summer. The cliffs along the edge of the plateau and the ledge paths, such as the Pas de l'Aiguille or the circuit of Mont Aiguille, are exposed in places; children must be held. In winter, there is an avalanche risk on the slopes of the Hauts Plateaux and the Grand Veymont, so check the Météo-France bulletin before any off-piste outing. The access roads close for snow or rockfalls; fit the car with winter tyres, compulsory from November to March in the massif. Ticks are present in the forests. There is no mobile signal across much of the reserve.
What to see and do in the Vercors
- Choranche cave
- Gorges de la Bourne
- Pont-en-Royans
- Combe Laval
- Vercors Resistance Memorial
- Mont Aiguille
- Hauts Plateaux du Vercors Nature Reserve
- Col de Rousset
Villard-de-Lans
Capital of the plateau at 1,050 metres, Villard-de-Lans is a resort village of 4,000 people that has kept its old centre, its market square under the plane trees and its stone-roofed farms in the hamlets. A major health resort in the 1920s, it took in children for altitude cures, which explains its grand hotels and villas. Today it lives from downhill and cross-country skiing on the Côte 2000 and Corrençon ski areas, from mountain biking, paragliding and hiking towards the Moucherotte and the Grande Moucherolle, and from village life, with a Sunday market, a cinema, an ice rink and a local cheese, Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage AOP. The Gorges de la Bourne begin on its doorstep. It is the most complete base for a stay in the north of the massif.
Autrans
The cross-country skiing village. Autrans hosted the cross-country and ski jumping events of the 1968 Grenoble Olympics, and its 160 kilometres of cross-country trails, one of the largest networks in France, spread across the forests and pastures of Gève, La Sure and La Molière, with views of the Chartreuse and Belledonne. The commune, merged with Méaudre since 2016, has kept a village square, farms with wooden galleries and a mountain film festival in December. In summer, the trails become hiking and mountain-biking routes, and La Molière, above the village, is one of the finest viewpoints in the Vercors over the Alps. Autrans is quieter and more family-oriented than Villard, 20 minutes away.
Pont-en-Royans
At 300 metres, this 16th-century village marks the exit of the Gorges de la Bourne and the entrance to the Royans, with its houses suspended above the river, painted ochre, pink and blue, clinging to the cliff on wooden beams. It lived from timber, floated down from the plateau, and from trade between the valley and the mountain. The Water Museum and its water bar, the swimming pools in the Bourne, the Pont Picard and the climb to the Trois Châteaux fill half a day. It is also the base for the Gorges de la Bourne, the Choranche cave 10 minutes away, the Combe Laval road via Saint-Jean-en-Royans and the walnut groves of the Royans, which produce the AOP Grenoble walnut.
Vassieux-en-Vercors
On the southern plateau, at 1,050 metres, Vassieux is the martyr village of the Vercors: razed in July 1944 during the German glider assault, it was rebuilt after the war and is one of the five communes in France awarded the Order of Liberation. The Museum of the Resistance in the village, the national necropolis and the Memorial at the Col de la Chau make up a powerful and sober remembrance trail. The village is also a base for cross-country skiing and hiking towards the Hauts Plateaux, with a prehistory museum set on a Neolithic flint-knapping workshop. The Lente forests and the Combe Laval road are 15 minutes away. This is the Vercors at its most austere and most moving.
La Chapelle-en-Vercors
The central town of the Drôme side of the Vercors, at 950 metres, also paid the price of 1944: 16 young men shot in a farmyard, the village burned, and a rebuilt square that keeps the memory alive. Today it is a lively village with a Thursday market, shops, a swimming pool and farms selling Bleu du Vercors, ravioles and charcuterie. It is the starting point for the Grands Goulets, whose old corniche road has been closed since 2008 and replaced by a tunnel, the Draye Blanche cave and the Col de Rousset. La Chapelle is the most practical base for combining Combe Laval, Vassieux, the Col de Rousset and the Hauts Plateaux from a single place to stay.
Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte
On the eastern balcony of the plateau, at 1,160 metres, Saint-Nizier looks down on Grenoble 900 metres below and, opposite, the Belledonne and Chartreuse ranges, as far as Mont Blanc on a clear day. The abandoned ski jump from the 1968 Olympics still rises above the village and serves as a viewpoint. The Moucherotte, at 1,901 metres, can be climbed in 2 hours from the village for one of the widest views in the Northern Alps. Saint-Nizier was the first village in the Vercors to be burned by the Germans, in June 1944, and its necropolis overlooks the valley. It is the gateway to the plateau from Grenoble, 25 minutes from the station, and a pleasant stop on the way in or out, with a restaurant renowned for its sunset view.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days are enough for the north of the plateau: Villard, the Gorges de la Bourne, Choranche, Pont-en-Royans and a hike. A week lets you add the south, Combe Laval, Vassieux, the Col de Rousset and two days on the Hauts Plateaux, or in winter alternate between cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and caves. Walkers crossing the Vercors on the GR 91 allow four to five days.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Vercors guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of the French Alps
weekend (2 days)
day 1, drive up from Grenoble via Saint-Nizier and the Olympic ski jump, settle in at Villard-de-Lans, spend the afternoon on an easy hike on the Molière plateau or to the Fauge waterfalls, and dine on ravioles and Bleu du Vercors. Day 2, down the Gorges de la Bourne in the morning, the Choranche cave, lunch in Pont-en-Royans and back via the gorges, or via Saint-Jean-en-Royans and Combe Laval if the weather allows.
4 to 5 days
day 1, Saint-Nizier, Lans-en-Vercors and Villard. Day 2, the Gorges de la Bourne, Choranche and Pont-en-Royans. Day 3, Combe Laval from Saint-Jean-en-Royans, the Lente forest, the Memorial at the Col de la Chau and Vassieux, night in La Chapelle-en-Vercors. Day 4, the Col de Rousset and a full-day hike along the edge of the Hauts Plateaux towards the But de l'Aiglette or the Pas des Écondus. Day 5, back via Die and the Drôme valley, or via the Trièves and the circuit of Mont Aiguille for walkers.
one week
days 1 to 4 as above, then days 5 and 6, a two-day crossing of the Hauts Plateaux from the Col de Rousset to the Pas de l'Aiguille, with a night in a hut or under canvas, arriving at Chichilianne at the foot of Mont Aiguille, and back by taxi or by train from Clelles. Day 7, a gentle day in the Trièves or at Autrans, mountain biking, summer sledging or a swim in the Lac de Monteynard before returning to Grenoble. In winter, replace days 5 to 7 with cross-country skiing at Autrans and Corrençon, snowshoeing at Vassieux and a guided ski-touring outing on the Hauts Plateaux.
Getting there and getting around
The TGV takes 3 hours from Paris to Grenoble; from the station, the T64 coach climbs to Lans-en-Vercors and Villard-de-Lans in about 1 hour, several times a day, and the T65 serves Autrans and Méaudre, which makes a car-free stay possible in the north of the plateau. Valence TGV, 2h10 from Paris, is 1 hour from Pont-en-Royans and La Chapelle-en-Vercors via Saint-Jean-en-Royans.
By car, Grenoble is 45 minutes from Villard via Sassenage and the Gorges d'Engins or via Saint-Nizier. Once there, a car remains useful for the south of the massif, Combe Laval, Vassieux and the Col de Rousset, where coaches are rare.
The access roads can close in winter because of snow and in any season because of rockfalls, especially the Gorges de la Bourne: check the websites of the Isère and Drôme départements. Cycling is excellent on the plateau and strenuous in the gorges; e-bikes and mountain bikes can be hired in Villard, Autrans and Lans.
Where to stay in the Vercors?
Budget: the campsites of Villard-de-Lans, Autrans, La Chapelle-en-Vercors and Vassieux offer pitches for €15 to €30 and chalets for €70 to €110, some open in winter with an indoor pool. The walkers' gîtes and huts on the GR 91, such as those at La Coche or the Col de Rousset, charge €20 to €30 in a dormitory, and the unstaffed huts of the Hauts Plateaux are free.
Comfort: the family-run hotels of Villard, Autrans, Lans and Corrençon, often former health-cure guesthouses renovated with a pool and restaurant, charge €90 to €130 for a double, summer and winter alike. B&Bs on the plateau's farms, at Méaudre, Saint-Julien-en-Vercors or Vassieux, with stone-slab roofs and breakfasts of bilberry jam, are in the same range.
Splurge: stay in a secluded golf hotel at the end of the Corrençon road, at the entrance to the reserve, with a spa and local cooking, or in an alpine farm at La Molière above Autrans with the sunrise over the Alps. Allow €150 to €220 for these places, which get booked up early for the February holidays and for August.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in the Vercors?
Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage AOP, a mild and creamy cow's milk cheese, is the signature of the plateau, served in a tart, a fondue or on the cheeseboard, at €15 to €20 a kilo from the farmers. Ravioles du Royans, little squares of pasta filled with Comté and parsley, are eaten with cream or in broth in every inn, at around €14 a plate.
AOP Grenoble walnuts from the Royans, gratin dauphinois, caillette, mountain-stream trout and bilberries from the Hauts Plateaux complete the table, with Chartreuse as a digestif and Clairette de Die, from the other side of the Col de Rousset, as an aperitif. Markets: Villard on Sunday, Autrans on Friday, La Chapelle on Thursday, Pont-en-Royans on Wednesday, Saint-Jean-en-Royans on Saturday.
An inn serves a set menu of local produce for €22 to €32, and a Bleu cheese fondue for around €20. The farms of Méaudre, Corrençon and Vassieux sell cheese, charcuterie and honey direct.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about the Vercors
When should you go to the Vercors?
From June to September for hiking, mountain biking and caves, with June for the flower meadows of the Trièves and September for the colours and the calm. From December to March for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ski touring, with January and February the most reliable months for snow. Spring is wet, and the Hauts Plateaux keep their snow until May.
Can you visit the Vercors without a car?
Yes for the north of the plateau: the T64 and T65 coaches from Grenoble station serve Lans, Villard, Corrençon, Autrans and Méaudre several times a day, and everything else can then be done on foot, by bike or by shuttle. For the south, Combe Laval, Vassieux and the Col de Rousset, a car is almost essential, as coaches are rare.
What is the most beautiful road in the Vercors?
Combe Laval, between Saint-Jean-en-Royans and the Col de la Machine, cut into the cliff 600 metres above the void, is the most spectacular. The Gorges de la Bourne, between Villard-de-Lans and Pont-en-Royans, are the longest and most varied. The Col de Rousset, from Die, offers the finest balcony over the south. All three combine into a big one-day loop from Villard.
Is the Vercors suitable for children?
Very much so. The Choranche and Draye Blanche caves, the Water Museum, the summer toboggan run at the Col de Rousset, the easy walks at La Molière and the Fauge waterfalls, the farms selling Bleu cheese and the beginner cross-country trails at Autrans all suit children from 4 or 5. The Hauts Plateaux and the ledge paths are best kept for older children.
How long does it take to cross the Hauts Plateaux?
Three to four days from the Col de Rousset to the Pas de l'Aiguille on the GR 91, with nights in unstaffed huts or under canvas, and no supplies or surface water whatsoever. A single day is enough to see the plateau from the Col de Rousset or from La Coche above Corrençon, returning the same way. An IGN map and plenty of water are essential.
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