Biker-friendly accommodation in Isère

Isère is the department with the greatest elevation change in France, from the Rhône at 134 meters all the way up to Pic Lory at over 4,000. Safe to say, any rider who rolls in here is never going to be bored. Between Grenoble tucked into its mountain bowl and the Oisans passes climbing toward the sky, the scenery shifts every twenty minutes. The Vercors unfolds its limestone gorges and plateaus, the Chartreuse hides its forests and monastic silence, and further south the Trièves watches Mont Aiguille thrust its improbable silhouette skyward. The riding season runs from April through October, with a real peak in July and August when the major alpine passes are clear of snow. May-June and September remain the most relaxed months to ride, with lighter traffic on the switchbacks and stunning light across the massifs.

What to see and do in Isère?

Grenoble deserves a stop, if only to ride the cable car up to the Bastille and watch the city set among mountains light up at dusk. Then head into the Oisans to tackle the 21 legendary hairpins of Alpe d'Huez, before dropping back down into the Vercors where Pont-en-Royans clings its colorful houses to the cliffs above the Bourne. The Chartreuse massif casts a special silence around its monastery, birthplace of the famous liqueur whose cellars you can tour in Voiron. Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, listed among France's most beautiful villages, is worth the detour for its Gothic abbey church and medieval lanes. The Domaine de Vizille tells the story of the French Revolution set within formal French gardens, while the ancient Roman theater in Vienne hosts the Jazz à Vienne festival every summer. For a nature fix, the Himalayan suspension bridges above Lac de Monteynard are genuinely vertiginous, and Mont Aiguille looms over the Trièves like something out of a postcard. And don't leave without trying the Grenoble walnuts and a proper gratin dauphinois, local specialties you owe yourself.