Page 151 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - France

DRIVE 13: Valleys and Mountains 149

ACTIVITIES IN
saintly virgin etched into the cliffs VILLARDDELANS
dominating the Val de Saint-Martin.
ª Continue on the D103; turn left DRAUGHTHORSERIDES AND
onto the D103A and then right onto SKIING
the D611 for La Chapelle-en-Vercors. Tourist Information
101 place Mure-Ravaud, 38250; 04 76
Linden Tree Reforestation 95 10 38; www.villarddelans.com
Around the beginning of the 17th PARAGLIDING
century, King Henri IV rewarded Vercors Aventure
people for planting linden trees, www.vercors-aventure.com
tilleuls de Sully (named after his
finance minis ter), as he deemed CAVING, CLIMBING AND
France’s forests overexploited. A CANYONING
sacred tree since the Middle Ages, Bureau des Moniteurs
the linden was used to sculpt many www.speleo-canyon.com
church statues. Its flowers also make
edges of town, the Parc de la Draye
a sleep-enhancing herbal tea. EAT AND DRINK
Blanche is an immense stalactite-
filled grotto, with guided palaeon-
4 La Chapelle-en-Vercors tology visits focusing on the site’s VILLARDDELANS
Drôme, Rhône-Alpes; 26420 prehistoric geology and fauna which My Little Terroir
The prettily named village, snuggled included buffalo, bears and wolves. inexpensive–moderate
This small restaurant and tearoom in
at an altitude of 945 m (3,100 ft) ª Take the D178 towards Vassieux-
the town centre, run by a Sicilian–
within long silvery arms of the rocky en-Vercors; approaching the town, British couple, showcases local Vercor
Vercors plateau, harbours many drive straight onto the D76. produce. Favourites include home-
wartime horror stories. It is hard to made fish and chips and Sicilian
believe that this incredible Alpine 5 Vassieux-en-Vercors Malloreddus with Vercor blue cheese
setting turned into a violent war Drôme, Rhône-Alpes; 26420 sauce. 128 avenue Général de Gaulle,
38250; 04 76 94 02 74; closed Tue
zone during World War II. The Vercors A peaceful place with a hellish history,
villages, based in the natural citadel the village was obliterated by the AROUND VILLARDDELANS
of the Vercors mountains, were stra- Nazis in 1944. It was later rebuilt. The L’Auberge de Malaterre moderate
tegic points for the Resistance and Mémorial de la Resistance and People walk, or go by snowshoes or
hence prime targets of the Nazis. In Muséographie (open daily, closed Mon cross-country ski, to reach this 1904
forest cabin, 5 km (3 miles) from Villard-
July 1944 La Chapelle-en-Vercors was and Tue Nov–Mar) has an audiovisual
de-Lans. Lit with kerosene lamps in win-
bombarded by Luftwaffe planes and presentation on the war, the occupa- ter, its menu includes mushroom, wild
a quarter of the houses were tion of the Vercors by the Nazis, and strawberry tart and gratins.
destroyed. While some villagers its liberation, with witness stories and Route Forestière Grand-Allée, Bois-
managed to hide in the sur rounding a short film. As visitors exit the memo- Barbu, 38250; 04 76 95 04 34; www.
malaterre.fr; open daily mid-Dec–mid-
forests, many were captured by the rial there is a panoramic view over
Mar, Jul–Aug, rest of the year only on
Nazis and held at the local school. the 11-km (7-mile) long Vassieux Plain. Sun
The Nazis later set the village on fire. ª Continue on the D76 to climb the
This was not before massacring 16 Col de St-Alexis through a few sharp Above Mural in the village of Vassieux-en-
hostages in a farm yard, La Cour des bends. From here follow the signs to Vercors Below left Spectacular scenery of the
Fusilles, which is now a memorial the Col de Rousset, which will proceed Drôme countryside Below right Stone houses
and a museum. On the forested along the D518. line an avenue in La Chapelle-en-Vercors