Читать книгу Via Ferratas of the French Alps - Richard Miller - Страница 11

GENEVA AND THE NORTHERN ALPS

Mont Blanc and Passy, as seen from the second balance beam on Via Ferrata de Curalla (Route 7)

Introduction

Geneva is actually in Switzerland, but serves as a convenient starting point for the routes in the area, being a major regional transport hub. There are air links with a number of UK cities and it takes three to four hours to reach Geneva by train from Paris. Once there, the A41 motorway leads south to Chambéry and Grenoble, and the A40 east to Chamonix and the Mont Blanc tunnel. Located on the Genevois Plain, Geneva is effectively an enclave within France, being separated from the rest of Switzerland by Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). The city is home to a number of national and international organisations and financial institutions, lending the city a cosmopolitan air.

In the event of poor weather, there are plenty of the usual tourist attractions associated with a city; be warned, however, that if you intend spending any time here it can be very expensive. Anyone on a limited budget should consider staying over the border at Saint Julien-en-Genevois or Annemasse. Further afield there are plenty of towns, villages and resorts that would make a good base, with the attractive lakeside town of Annecy particularly recommended.

The Giffre Massif, seen from the top of Via Ferrata de la Tour du Jallouvre (Route 8)

The area covered in this chapter encompasses the Chablais, Haute-Giffre, Bornes, Aravis and Beaufortain ranges within the Alps as well as the southern end of the Jura Massif, which is a separate range from the Alps. These ranges are more accessible than some of those of higher altitude to the east and south, and have a relatively long summer season. The 12 via ferratas described are spread out over a fairly wide area, so allow plenty of travel time if you intend to visit several of them. The routes are fairly representative of French via ferratas, being quite varied in both style and difficulty.

For tourist information see the websites listed in Appendix D.