The Trièves in 4 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.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Mont Aiguillefree · half a dayA sheer limestone tower split from the Vercors cliffs, 2,087 metres high above Chichilianne, with a flat grassy summit.
- Late afternoon
Col de Menéefree · 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.
Day 2
- Morning
Lalley and the Giono trailfree · 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 Vivante2 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.
- Late afternoon
Mensfree · 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.
Day 3
- Morning
Musée du Trièvesabout 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.
- Afternoon
The Monteynard suspension footbridgesfree · half a dayTwo footbridges over the gorges feeding the lake, 220 and 180 metres long, on a loop of about 13 kilometres through forest.
Day 4
- Morning
A boat trip on Lake Monteynardabout 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 in the Trièves
- Auberge de Mens · €80 a night
- Hôtel restaurant Le traîneau · €75 a night
- Au Gai Soleil du Mont-Aiguille · €85 a night
Plan this trip
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