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Travel guide
The Trièves
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September to October
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Welcome
The Trièves, in a few days
A high plateau of meadows ringed by the Vercors and the Dévoluy, an hour south of Grenoble. Mont Aiguille, whose ascent in 1492 is often seen as the birth of mountaineering, watches over Mens and its Protestant lanes, while two long footbridges cross the gorges of Lake Monteynard.
- 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 · Mont Aiguille free · half a dayA sheer limestone tower split from the Vercors cliffs, 2,087 metres high above Chichilianne, with a flat grassy summit.
- Afternoon · Col de Menée free · about 30 minA 1,457-metre pass between the Trièves and the Diois, climbed from Chichilianne before dropping towards Châtillon-en-Diois and a more southern landscape.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Château de Passières€120 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lalley and the Giono trail free · about 1 hThe village where Jean Giono spent his holidays and set Un roi sans divertissement, and where he met the painter Edith Berger.
- Afternoon · Terre Vivante · 2 to 3 hAn ecology centre near Mens on 50 hectares of woodland, with organic gardens, an eco-house and composting to explore, plus summer workshops.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Chalet Hôtel Prayer€110 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mens free · about 1 hThe historic capital of the Trièves, a market town that became almost entirely Calvinist in the 16th century, below a hill nicknamed Calvin's Bonnet.
- Afternoon · Musée du Trièves · about 1 hA local museum on the market square of Mens, from prehistory to the Resistance, with a strong focus on Protestant history and local artists.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Château de Passières€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Monteynard suspension footbridges free · half a dayTwo footbridges over the gorges feeding the lake, 220 and 180 metres long, on a loop of about 13 kilometres through forest.
- Afternoon · A boat trip on Lake Monteynard · about 1 h 30A narrated 90-minute trip on La Mira into one of the lake's two gorges, passing under the suspension footbridges.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Chalet Hôtel Prayer€110 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 €78 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September to October
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/trieves
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.