Alps — The way we ride

The road & its landscape

This French Alpine chapter follows the Iseran crossing between Tarentaise and Haute Maurienne.

Planning corridor: Bourg-Saint-Maurice → Val d’Isère → Col de l’Iseran → Bonneval-sur-Arc.

Why ride here

This French Alpine chapter follows the Iseran crossing between Tarentaise and Haute Maurienne.

VIEWS FROM THE ROAD

Scenery along the road

The Iseran road follows inhabited Tarentaise valley country towards Val d’Isère, then leaves the settlements for exposed rock and a wide mountain skyline. South of the pass, the descent reaches Bonneval-sur-Arc, where stone houses and slate roofs bring the landscape back to village scale.

Val d’Isère approach

The inhabited valley leads towards a high resort, with the road increasingly framed by Alpine slopes.

Col de l’Iseran

Above the settlement the scenery becomes exposed, with rock and broad mountain horizons.

Bonneval-sur-Arc

The southern descent ends among stone buildings and slate roofs below the high crossing.

ON THE ROAD

Roads from above

3 photographs

Look at the bends, road surface and landscape beside the carriageway. Each caption identifies the location; other roads in the range are marked separately.

Other roads in this range

Some photographs show other roads, visitor access or historical alignments in this mountain region. Their captions identify the difference from this chapter’s main corridor; vehicle access is not inferred from the image.

The Iseran road below the tunnel, seen from above the Vallon de la Lenta
Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

Iseran pass hairpins seen from Pointe des Lessières in 1994; historic photograph
Herzi Pinki · CC BY 2.5 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

The road towards Villar-d’Arêne seen from Col du Lautaret; another French Alpine road, outside the Iseran corridor
Robbie Shade · CC BY 2.0 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

Road conditions & preparation

Check the road operator for snow closures and restrictions before departure.

Confirm the detailed road line, fuel and current access before using this chapter to plan a ride. Scenic-area transfers and off-road riding may require separate arrangements.

THE LANDSCAPE AROUND YOU

Mountain landscapes

3 photographs

Photographs identify their actual location, author and licence. Viewpoints away from the riding corridor are stated in the captions; photographs are not verified ride records.

Mountain landscape: Col de l' Iseran - panoramio - pyraniton
pyraniton · CC BY 3.0 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

Mountain landscape: Aussicht vom Col de l' Iseran - panoramio
pyraniton · CC BY 3.0 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

Mountain landscape: Col de l' Iseran, Sicht ins Maurienne Tal - panoramio
pyraniton · CC BY 3.0 · Thumbnail / display crop · Licence

Sources & provenance

Official Route des Grandes Alpes stages ↗

Summarised from public sources. A historic tourism plan describes a corridor, not current road access. Track authors retain ownership of their files.