DESTINATION
Annecy, France
Peace envelopes the Col de l’Arpettaz, following a bruising passage up narrow, pine tree-lined tarmac. This might be a climbing backwater in the northern Aravis mountain range of the French Alps, but it’s all the better for it, serving up a slice of tranquillity across its 16km, 7.1 per cent slope. Up here it’s a good deal more serene than 50km in energetic Annecy, the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Haute-Savoie region, says Lonely Planet.
Annecy, vibrant on both land and water, is a fabulous spot to base yourself for an extended break on the bike, should you want a destination with more off-bike activity. Its old town, separated by canals, has bags of charm –a Venice in miniature, without the over-torqued tourism feel. Lake Annecy, France’s thirdlargest lake at 27km², dominates the town. If you want to go on it, water sports abound. You might prefer to go around it, however, and riding its paths will be respite after hard days in the mountains. Much of its 40km distance is on designated bike paths, with moves to buy up land to build more. It’s the mountains, however, that exert the greatest pull on cyclists here and there’s certainly no shortage. If long and high is what you want, consider Semnoz, Annecy’s biggest climb (15.5km at 7.7 per cent from Saint-Jorioz) and the climb that finished the 2013 Tour de France.
The Aravis mountain range, being lower than those deeper south into the Alps, has a longer cycling season 
The picturesque old town area has an air of Venice about it, with its colourful waterside buildings
When to go
The Aravis mountain range is lower than those deeper south into the Alps, so you can ride on the roads earlier in the spring and leave later into the autumn and still hit the summits; early May through till late September is the window, but June-early September will offer the warmest riding, with average temperatures ranging from 17.1 degrees in June to 19 degrees in July.
Big dates
Pitched perfectly in this weather sweet spot is the AlpinBike Lac d’Annecy sportive (alpinbike.fr) on 27-28 August. Starting in Saint-Jorioz, the long 127km route opens with Semnoz. Annecy is a semiregular on the Tour de France route, last hosting a stage start in the 2018 race, on stage 10 (won by Julian Alaphilippe into Le Grand-Bornand).
It was this stage that was used for that year’s Etape du Tour, the mass participation sportive aligned with the Tour. Every Wednesday is market day in Annecy’s old town, and on the first Saturday of August each year there are grand pyrotechnics on the lake in the Fête du Lac – the biggest fireworks display in Europe, they say.
Don’t miss
For a bird’s eye view of the lake, Col de la Forclaz, at 1,150m, offers splendid views. From Menthon Saint Bernard it’s a good test for riders of all levels – 660 metres gained over 10.2km. Ending up a little over 700m above the lake attracts people for the view, for lunch (La Ferme restaurant) and even the chance to paraglide off the summit, should the bike descent not be adrenaline-fuelled enough.
Travel
Annecy is just a 44km drive from Geneva airport, which has direct flights with airports across the UK. Return flights in early June from Gatwick cost £55 at time of writing. Travelling by Eurostar to Annecy, with one change in Paris, is roughly 8 hours from London St Pancras International and costs £163 return. Be warned, however: travelling with fully assembled bikes or those in bike boxes is currently not allowed on Eurostar.
Accommodation
Le Boutik Hotel is situated right in the heart of the old town of Annecy and each of its 12 rooms has a different design theme, including ‘Pink Nordik’ (leboutikhotel. com). On Cycling Plus’s last visit to Annecy, while we rode into town and scaled its climbs, we stayed with bike holiday company Bike Weekender, based 30km away in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt. It offers fully and self-supported trips of weekends or longer, climbing all the climbs mentioned in this article and more. A four-day trip on 2 June, including transfers, accommodation, ride guide and dinner costs £545 at time of writing (bikeweekender.com).
The Route
An easy opening along the west side of Lake Annecy before climbing starts on the Arpettaz at 32km. It’s a rough descent, before you arrive at the Col des Aravis on the southern Flumet side (11.5km at 5%). `The return to Annecy is lumpy, though nothing like what’s come before.
01 Bike shop
● Meta Bike’s in Annecy-le-Vieux sells parts and accessories and offers repairs.
02 Lunch stop
● Flumet is the most timely lunch location, if not the most appropriate, as it sits just before you climb the Aravis. The Auberge de Montagne les Bougnettes restaurant is a little bit of a detour, but with its traditional French food, is worth the effort. There’s also an eatery at the top of Arpettaz.
03 Photo op
● As you begin your descent from Arpettaz, look out for, on a clear day, the terrific sight of Mont Blanc, the Alps’ highest peak (4,807m).
Distance 120km
Total elevation 2,301m
Download komoot.com/tour/736164881
