Tourist routes

Gap Tallard Vallées is the promise of a multi-faceted territory. Our tourist routes allow to discover, according to their theme, villages and points of interest. By car, motorcycle, bike, on foot or even on horseback, these courses will guide you on the road of holidays !

The Perched Villages Route

By car, motorcycle or bicycle ... explore this itinerary to discover 14 villages and let us guide you to the heights of our valleys !

 

Through the proposed circuits, mixing nature, culture and agriculture and thanks to the established orientation tables, you will be able to discover magnificent panoramas, from 180° to 360°, between mountain and Provence, between plains, plateaux, landscapes of orchards, and at the water's edge.

The villages have pretty little churches, wash houses, fountains, old houses with some ruins from another era. The Napoleon Road or the Fruit and Wine Route are tourist routes that cross the "Route des Villages Perchés".

On the courses, discover our local producers, restaurants, accommodation, sports activities, fun and discovery.

Orientation tables have been installed on the course:

Châteauvieux : on the heights of the town, near Serre-Pierrot (accessible by foot).
Fouillouse : on the Town Hall square.
Jarjayes : near the ruins of the church Trois Château (accessible on foot from the village).
La Freissinouse : on the D994 on the left before arriving at the village from Gap.
Lardier & Valença : along the D19 linking the village to the Col de Foureyssasse. 
Pelleautier : above the lake, by the D19, then along the D319.
Sigoyer : in front of the chapel of the Hameau de Saint-Laurent.
Tallard : one on the "Chemin de l'Aérodrome" and another on the castle esplanade.

The Napoléon road

Traced in 7 days from 1 to 7 March 1815 by Emperor Napoleon I, this mythical route, 314 km long, crosses exceptional landscapes from Golfe Juan - in the Alpes Maritimes - to Grenoble in Isère.

 

Named "Winter Alpine Roads" or "The Great Alpine Road" at the beginning of the 20th century, it was definitively named "Napoleon Route" in 1932 at the initiative of the Touring Club de France and the impetus of the tourist information offices. In this way, it responds to the interest and curiosity aroused among French and foreign customers for this emblematic character of French history, the flight of the Eagle...

Vitrolles, La Saulce, Tallard and Gap are stops on this famous Route Nationale 85.

 

Some traces remain of Napoleon Bonaparte's passage to La Saulce and Tallard:
- The main artery of La Saulce is called "l'Avenue Napoléon" in memory of the battle that took place in the town on 5 March 1815
- A fresco depicting a Napoleonic soldier taking shelter in the chapel of Tallard Castle.
The emperor will make a triumphant entrance to Gap on the evening of March 5 and will spend the night at the Auberge Marchand on Gap, rue de France, where a commemorative plaque remains.

One day, an event:
- Anecdote at La Saulce: battle of March 5, 1815.  The bourgeois Marseillais supporters of Louis XVIII, wanted to stop Napoleon but suffered a humiliation by the gapençais rallied to the emperor. Since then, the Gapençais, on each visit to Marseille, have reminded them of their humiliation with this expression: "Dip a famous sauce in La Saulce".

- Anecdote to Gap : on the morning of 6 March 1815: Napoleon, wanting to clear the chimney from his room, fired a pistol inside. Falling from the fireplace, a mass of soot exploded, suggesting an attack. The emperor finally appearing safe and sound at his window received a big standing ovation. In memory of its passage in the Hautes-Alpes, it was decided to build refuges in the passes that did not have to protect travelers. The Napoleonic Refuges of Izoard, La Croix, Walnut, Manse, Vars and Agnel were inaugurated in 1858.

 

And only 10 km from Gap, discover the little walk of the Hat of Napoleon which offers you an exceptional panorama on the gapençais.

The Fruit and Wine Route

This tourist route takes you from the lookout of the Serre-Ponçon lake to Ribiers, the gateway to Provence.

Benefiting from an ideal climate, the valley combines the best conditions for the production of quality apples, pears and peaches along the Durance River.

Although the first fruit transactions in the country date back to 1358, the first orchards were planted in the early 20th century. The creation of the Durance canal in the 60's and the development of irrigation networks allowed the development of this fruit-growing vocation of the territory with numerous varieties; golden delicious apples, American reds, Canadian grey reinettes, granny smiths...and on the pear side: red and white williams, louise bonne, martin sec, doyenné du comice, passe-crassane, conference.

80% of apple orchards are now covered by nets; and no...it's not to protect from birds. It is to protect themselves from the very frequent hail - and some birds nest underneath to protect themselves from their predators!

The alpine botanical conservatory of Gap-Charance houses important fruit collections; numerous old varieties of apple trees, pear trees including the napoleon, bois-napoleon, and imperial oak-leaf trees that you can discover in the terraced garden, labeled "Remarkable Garden" since 2005.

Hectares of vineyards also extend over Tallard, Châteauvieux and Jarjayes. The production of these vineyards in red, white, rosé and traditional method champenoise acquires little by little notoriety in all France.

The fruit and wine producers along this route will help you discover their terroir.

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