Alpe d’Huez & Bourg-d’Oisans

Part of France › French Alps

Alpe d’Huez is on every cyclist’s list. The question is not whether you ride those 21 hairpins once, but where you sleep if you want more than one climb and a photo at bend 7. The answer lies below those bends: Le Bourg-d’Oisans, in the Oisans region. Alpe d’Huez is the lure. Oisans is the reason you stay.

Le Bourg-d’Oisans as a base of operations

Le Bourg-d’Oisans sits at 720 metres in the Romanche valley, exactly where several valleys meet. The climb to Alpe d’Huez starts at the edge of the village, and from the same spot you ride to the Col du Galibier, the Croix de Fer, Les 2 Alpes and the dead-end road to La Bérarde, in the heart of the Écrins. So the car can stay parked for a week: every morning you pick a direction.

Oisans carries the Territoire Vélo label from the French cycle touring federation. In practice: twenty mapped cycling routes, bike-friendly addresses, shuttles and repair tools at the tourist offices.

The climbs

• Alpe d'Huez13.8 kilometers at 7.9 percent, 1,266 meters of elevation gain and 21 numbered turns. Turn 7 is the Dutch turn. The record of Marco Pantani (37’35”) still stands.
• Alpe d’Huez via the Col de SarenneThe wild variant, 52 kilometers and 1,705 meters of elevation gain. First through the valley of the Ferrand, with more sheep than cars, and then up the back side.
• Croix de Fer and GlandonThe big day: 80 kilometers and 2,086 meters of elevation gain through the valley of the Eau d’Olle, past the lake of Grand’Maison, with the Aiguilles d’Arves visible at the top.
• La Bérarde66 kilometers and 1,250 meters of elevation gain along the turquoise waters of the Vénéon, all the way to the foot of the Barre des Écrins (4,102 meters). Two sections of 11 percent, the rest climbing gradually.
• The Galibier: via the Col du Lautaret, the roof of many Tour de France stages.

Climber map: the most important climbs

On this map you can see the most important ascents in the area. Click on a point for the altitude and the climb figures. The yellow points have a GPX route attached.

Balcony paths

What makes Oisans different from other Alpine destinations are the balcony roads: narrow roads cut out of the rock face, high above the valley. The Balcons de l’Oisans (93 kilometres, 3,266 metres of climbing) strings together Auris-en-Oisans, Mont-de-Lans, Mizoën, the Col de Sarenne and Villard-Reculas. Shorter gems: the climb to Oulles, the smallest village in the Isère, and the road to Villard-Notre-Dame, with three unlit tunnels. So bring lights.

Alpe d’Huez on the gravel bike

It can also be done differently. Maks and Jeffrey rode the Alpe as a loop on the gravel bike: 63 kilometers with over 1,500 meters of elevation gain and almost a quarter of gravel. Start in Allemond, twelve flat kilometers along the river, the first turns of the classic climb and off the route at turn 7, into the forest. Read it in Alpe d’Huez on the gravel bike.

Car-free climbing: the Oisans Col Series

Normally one col or route closes to cars every Tuesday morning in July and August: Alpe d’Huez, the Croix de Fer, the Sarenne. In 2026 the Oisans Col Series take a year off; they return in 2027. For the programme see bike-oisans.com. What you can expect can be read in Oisans Col Series: 9 car-free options.

Practical

• The Voie Verte: a car-free cycle path from Venosc via Le Bourg-d’Oisans to Allemond, linking three valleys. From late June to late August a free shuttle bus with a bike trailer runs on this stretch, seven days a week.
• Overnight stay: Addresses with the label Accueil Cyclo Oisans have a closed storage area and sometimes a laundry service, rated with one to three bicycles. Campgrounds in Allemond are often quieter and cheaper than at the foot of the climb.
• When: from June to September. The high cols (Galibier, Croix de Fer, Sarenne) only open once the snow has gone; the opening dates are on bike-oisans.com.
• Attention: narrow descents, sharp curves and tunnels. Lighting included.

From our stories

• Oisans is the base for Alpe d’Huez and more
• Alpe d’Huez climb a day before the professional peloton: The Alps for the Tour de France Femmes.
• The steepest climbs in the French Alps

Maurienne Galibier

You can reach the Galibier and the Croix de Fer in the Maurienne, which was awarded the title of Destination France à Vélo in 2026. Route des Grandes Alpes (720 km, Thonon-les-Bains – Nice) also passes through here.

Events in Alpe d’Huez & Bourg-d’Oisans

How do you get there?

• Flying: Fly to Grenoble · Lyon. Bring your own bike; book a place for your bike box in time.
• By train: Convenient stations: Grenoble (bus to Bourg-d'Oisans).
• By car: From Utrecht you are in about 10 hours Alpe d’Huez & Bourg-d’Oisans.