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Travel guide
The Vercors
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September, or January to February for cross-country skiing
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Welcome
The Vercors, in a few days
A limestone fortress 60 kilometres long between Grenoble and Valence, whose roads in were cut into the cliffs. You drive the Combe Laval road on a ledge 600 metres above the drop and through the Bourne gorges, where the houses of Pont-en-Royans hang over the river.
- 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 · Choranche Cave · about 1 h 30Thousands of hollow straw stalactites up to 3 metres long hang over an emerald lake; the guided visit follows an underground river.
- Afternoon · The Bourne Gorges free · about 1 hTwenty-five kilometres of road from Villard-de-Lans to Pont-en-Royans, through tunnels and along ledges above a gorge up to 700 metres deep.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Christiania€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pont-en-Royans free · about 1 hPainted houses propped on timber beams over the green river, seen from the Pont Picard, with a climb to the Trois Châteaux for the view.
- Afternoon · Combe Laval free · about 1 hA road cut in 1896 into a limestone cirque 600 metres above the valley floor, with tunnels and rock windows along 4 kilometres.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Vernay€90 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Vercors Resistance Memorial · about 1 h 30A building set into the slope above Vassieux that tells the story of the Vercors maquis, its free republic of July 1944 and its destruction.
- Afternoon · Col de Rousset free · about 1 hWhere the Alpine Vercors turns Mediterranean: forests to the north, a 1,000-metre drop to the Drôme valley and the lavender of Die to the south.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel du Col de l'Arc€95 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hauts Plateaux du Vercors Nature Reserve free · a full dayFrance's largest mainland nature reserve, 17,000 hectares with no roads or villages, for days of walking among ibex, marmots and vultures.
- Afternoon · Mont Aiguille free · a full dayA sheer-sided limestone block of 2,087 metres, first climbed with ladders and ropes on the orders of Charles VIII in June 1492.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Bellier€95 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 €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September, or January to February for cross-country skiing
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/vercors
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.