All too often, its name is reduced to that little glass shared after a good meal. Quite the contrary! Before becoming the most famous green bottle on the planet, the Chartreuse is first and foremost a mountain range that gives us the thrill of wide-open spaces. Hiking, sightseeing, wine-tasting, swimming, heritage and more. The Chartreuse is a goldmine just a stone’s throw from Lyon, and it would be a mistake to ignore it.
The Chartreuse, the “Swiss Army knife” of our region
Along with Pilat and the Massif des Bauges, the Chartreuse is one of the closest Regional Nature Parks to Lyon. These areas (of which there are 57 in mainland France) are veritable natural treasures. The Chartreuse is one of the most prestigious in France. A 1h30 drive from Lyon will take you into a world of enchantment…
Let’s start with the basics of a Regional Nature Park: its network of hiking trails. From leisurely strolls to more athletic trails, not forgetting the 6-day trek that circles the area, the Chartreuse boasts over 1,500 km of marked trails – the distance between Paris and Rome!
Among the must-do hikes, we can only recommend the following:
- the Cascade de l’Alloixhike (easy level)
- the Pinéasummit (medium level)
- or Chamechaude, the massif’s highest point (difficult level).
But to confine ourselves to hiking would be to underestimate the potential of the Chartreuse. Within a relatively small area, you can discover emblematic villages such as Corbel, Saint-Pierre-d’Entremont and, of course, Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse. It’s right here that you can visit the Musée de la Grande Chartreuse, immersing you in the life of this monastery, a site as emblematic as Cluny or Baume-les-Messieurs, and unique in France.
And why not take the opportunity to stargaze during the Perseids? When it comes to stargazing conditions, the Chartreuse is the ultimate. Head for Mont Granier or Dent de Crolles, for example, for a celestial spectacle that would bring astronauts down from the sky…
The list goes on… let’s add (among 100 other ideas) a visit to the Jardins et Château du Touvet, the famous Cascade du Pichut, a swim in Lac d’Aiguebelette or a tasting of local honey, wine or cheese…
And what about this famous liqueur?
How can we talk about this region without mentioning its sap? Chartreuse liqueur can be drunk in Tokyo as well as Ibiza, and its name – resolutely French (ask an Englishman or Spaniard to say “Chartreuse”, and you’ll get a good laugh) – is known the world over.
Its origins date back almost a thousand years: in 1084, the hermitage was founded by the Carthusian Order. Eight centuries and many setbacks (avalanches, fires, the French Revolution) later, the liqueurs were finally marketed under the name “Chartreuse”. By 1840, revenues from the green and yellow versions had become the monastery’s main source of income. Today, the Caves de Chartreuse in Voiron are a must-see.
Despite its worldwide success, the liqueur is still made in the mountains, and its production is supervised by the monks of La Grande Chartreuse. Could this be the key to success? Despite success, keep your feet on the ground. And in a place like this, it’s easy to see why!
In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the liqueur or the views. For, as Alfred de Musset once said: “The bottle doesn’t matter, as long as you get drunk…”.