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Travel guide
Serre-Ponçon and Les Orres
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: January to February, and June to September
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Welcome
Serre-Ponçon and Les Orres, in a few days
A 2,800-hectare reservoir of turquoise water under the southern Alps sun, with Blue Flag beaches, a chapel on an islet, the earth pillars of Théus and the cathedral of Embrun. In winter, the Les Orres ski resort takes over, with its slopes, an alpine coaster and a giant zip line.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lake Serre-Ponçon free · 2 to 3 hA reservoir about 20 km long created by a dam completed in 1959, whose filling drowned the village of Ubaye and part of Savines.
- Afternoon · Saint-Michel Chapel free · about 30 minA chapel on a rocky islet in the middle of the lake, the last trace of the flooded lands, which once sheltered travellers and pilgrims.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Les Trappeurs€120 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Savines-le-Lac free · about 1 hDrowned by the lake and rebuilt above the waterline in the early 1960s, the village has a modernist architecture now labelled as 20th-century heritage.
- Afternoon · Embrun lake free · 2 to 3 hA 27-hectare lake separated from the reservoir, with a steadier level and warmer water, grassy beaches, sailing, canoes and a 2.6 km loop path.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel L'Escale Blanche€115 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Notre-Dame-du-Réal Cathedral free · about 30 minBuilt between 1170 and 1225, Embrun's Lombard-style cathedral alternates pink and green marble, black schist and white limestone.
- Afternoon · Orrian Express alpine coaster · about 30 minA 710-metre track at Les Orres 1650 with banked bends and 360-degree spirals, ridden alone or in pairs with a brake you control.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel La Portette€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Les Orres Speedline · about 30 minA 1,890-metre zip line from the top of the Pic Vert chairlift across the resort, more than 100 metres above the slopes and larches.
- Afternoon · Demoiselles Coiffées of Théus free · 2 to 3 hHundreds of earth pillars in a valley above Théus, some over 20 metres tall, each protected from erosion by a cap of harder rock.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Les Trappeurs€120 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €100 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJanuary to February, and June to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/serre-poncon
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.