If you're thinking France, you're thinking the French Alps. Cycling in the French Alps is a dream for every cycling enthusiast. In the Hautes-Alpes region, you can indulge yourself around Briançon. At the invitation of Huttopia, we visited the Vallouise and La Clarée campsites. Both are a stone's throw from Briançon and perfect for tackling the various Alpine climbs you know from the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. In fact, during our trip, stage 4 of the Vuelta a España passed right by our door! We'll take you to the region and give you our tips for a wonderful cycling adventure in the Hautes-Alpes region – Briançon.
Electric journey to France
We start our day of travel nice and early. We get up at five in the morning and drive straight to France. Because we are driving an electric car, we have to recharge a few times, but that can easily be combined with a short pit stop. It is quite a long drive, but we finally arrive at the Huttopia Vallouise campsite at half past ten in the evening. We called ahead to let them know that if we arrived late, we should report to the restaurant instead of the reception. That was good to know, and it meant we could pick up our key and information about our stay. The chalet looks good and has almost everything we need for a few days' stay. The beds are made, so we can go to sleep quickly.
On to the Col de Vars and Col de l'Izoard
After a long journey yesterday, we wake up feeling a little tired today, but morale is high: we are going to conquer two epic Alpine passes. We grab breakfast and dinner in the village and start the day calmly. The first kilometers of the day are downhill towards Guillestre, a perfect warm-up. The climb to the Col de Vars starts off tough, with steep sections at the beginning and end. The middle section is flatter, ideal for catching our breath. At the top, we enjoy the view and descend via a clear road, with a short passage through a village where we have to pay close attention.
The approach to the Col de l'Izoard begins in Guillestre. The road climbs gently between impressive rock faces. After 15 kilometres, we turn left and the real climb begins. We pass charming villages and fill up with water for the final, steep section. The hairpin bends and gradients of over 10% make it tough going, but the views along the way are magnificent. At the top, there is a small restaurant with a souvenir shop. Unfortunately, we couldn't buy a Coke because we didn't have any cash, but thanks to a friendly lady, we were able to fill our water bottles anyway.
The descent to Briançon is spectacular, with lots of bends and beautiful views. This is followed by another 20 km of gentle climbing to our campsite in Vallouise. Around six o'clock, we drive onto the site, tired but satisfied. Time to shower and cook in our cosy chalet.
Colle d'Agnello / Col d'Agnel; Steven Kruijswijk's Nightmare
After a quiet start to the day, we can still feel yesterday's kilometres in our legs, but we are ready for a new challenge: the Col d'Agnel. This impressive climb is famous from both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. We get our breakfast at the bakery and Carrefour in the village, which is only a minute away by bike. Today's route is 137 kilometres there and back, with the highlight being the border crossing into Italy. The first 20 kilometres towards Guillestre are ideal for warming up. Then we cycle via Château Queyras to the Col d'Agnel: a tough 21 km climb with steep sections at the beginning and end. Along the way, we see curious marmots and enjoy the view in the hairpin bends just before the summit.
At the top of the pass, on the border between France and Italy, the view is breathtaking. There are no restaurants or cafés, but the peace and quiet and the panorama more than make up for that. After a short stop, we descend, first with technical bends, then quickly and straight. On the way back, we stop in L'Argentière-la-Bessée for a well-deserved cola and coffee in the sunshine. We roll out the last few kilometres to the campsite in a relaxed manner. A successful day full of highlights!
Transition in between Huttopia Vallouise - Huttopia La Clarée
Our last day in Vallouise starts early. We pack the car and leave at 8:30 a.m. for our next destination: Huttopia La Clarée. We have breakfast in Briançon on the way and arrive at the new campsite around 10 a.m. Since we can't check in until 4 p.m., we change our clothes in the car park and hop straight on our bikes.
Today is all about the Vuelta, which passes over the Col du Lautaret. We cycle uphill at a good pace and share the road with many other cycling enthusiasts. At the top of the Lautaret, it is pleasantly busy and the atmosphere is good. When the riders pass by, we cheer them on enthusiastically and before we know it, they are already gone.
After this spectacle, we continue climbing towards the Galibier. It is quite windy, but the view at the top is worth it. We take the classic photo at the sign and descend towards the Granon, our last climb of the day. The Granon is short but powerful: 10 kilometres with an average gradient of 9%. It is tough, but the route through the forest and the view make up for it.
Back at the campsite, we are warmly welcomed and can check in again. Our new chalet is comfortable and a nice place to relax after this impressive day. The chalet has a kitchen, two bedrooms with comfortable beds, and the bathroom is also more than adequate.
Legs Up
Today is a rest day. This works out well with the weather, as it is a rainy day. After breakfast, we decide to visit the old town of Briançon, Cité Vauban. It is a beautiful fortress with charming little streets. Perfect for spending a rest day. We have lunch in a side street near the church. After a good lunch, we return to the campsite. We spend a quiet afternoon and evening there. We do some shopping and then look ahead to tomorrow.
Finestre summit up in flames
The last day of cycling in this beautiful week has arrived. We get up and look outside; it's dry, but... a full day of rain is forecast. This is a disappointment because we have a beautiful ride planned for today. We want to ride the Colle delle Finestre, the climb from the 2025 Giro where Del Toro lost his pink jersey and Yates won the Giro. The weather is not favourable today, but it looks like we can still cycle for an hour at the end of the afternoon.
Late afternoon, we go cycling for another hour at half past five. We choose a 23 km route to the Italian border and back. The route includes the Montée Montgenevre, a 7 km climb with a 6% gradient. It is a beautiful climb that rises evenly. We cycle through the village of Montgenevre and continue on to the Italian border. We quickly take a photo because we can already see dark clouds approaching in the distance. We cycle back and arrive at the campsite just before the rain starts.
We go for dinner in the small village, close to La Vachette. After a great meal, it's time for us to wrap it up and depart for The Netherlands the next morning.
Huttopia La Clarée and Huttopia Vallouise
Huttopia offers campsites with camping pitches, furnished tents, mobile homes, wooden cabins and more. Both Vallouise and La Clarée offer a bread service for breakfast, bicycle hire, a restaurant serving pizzas and pancakes, for example, and you can enjoy a drink at the bar.
There's a heated pool at both campsites. You can also find several activities such as table tennis, jeu de boules and a football/basketbalcourt. In Vallouise, there's a tenniscourt and a volleyballfield you can use. There's also a washing machine and a dryer at your disposal.
In the neighborhood at Vallouise you'll find many restaurants, with the one in the hotel around the corner being the closest (and the best?). You'll find a small supermarket in the village as well. The bakery will provide you with a great bread for breakfast.
At the campsite in La Clarée, you have to go to Briançon for the supermarket, but you can order bread from the baker himself at the campsite. For restaurants, you can go to La Vauchette, for example. Les Copains d'Abord, you can have a really good dinner here and they are very welcoming.
Both campsites are therefore perfect for exploring the Alps and tackling some of the major mountain passes such as the Col du Galibier, Izoard, Col de Vars and Col du Granon. And, of course, the Agnello, Col d'Agnel. With a little time and imagination, the Colle del Finestre is also an option!
How do you get there
By car, it is 1,200 km from Utrecht, for example. It's about 1.000km from Calais (where the eurotunnel is). It normally takes a day to get there. We were travelling in an electric car and had to recharge three times, which meant breaks of 45 minutes. It therefore took us 13 hours, which was perfectly fine.
We drove back and forth on the Route du Soleil, where there's road Toll to be paid.
The journey could also be made by train, but travel times and costs vary greatly. Briançon is easily accessible, but then you still have to travel to the campsites located further down in the valleys. In any case, there is a train that runs between Briançon and Valence TGV station. According to Google, a one-way trip from Paris to Briancon is 6,5 hours. You can get from London to Paris quit easily. The closest airport is the one in Turin, in Italy. Or the one in Grenoble, but Turin is better served.
Huttopia La Claree - Vallouise itineraries
Vallouise and La Claree are perfect for road cycling. They are also great for gravel biking and mountain biking. On our trip, we mainly used our road bikes. These are the routes we took on this trip.
The region is also very beautiful for gravel biking. We saw a beautiful collection by Simon Rosmolen, who knows the region very well as a hotelier. We don't want to keep this extra collection from you!
