Growing
up with four seasons, I’ve always had a soft spot for each season and
I’ve always looked forward to the next one. Autumn’s no different. Although it
indicates that the warm and sunny summer’s behind us, I find it refreshing to
switch my flip-flops finally into real shoes, put up a candle or two as
the nights are getting darker, and most of all, enjoy outdoors with all the
colours nature is showcasing to us (Note: Denis would definitely want to mention here the opening of the oh-so-delicious Raclette season!). And what about that special
moment when you look outside and the first snow starts falling- enchanting!
Meanwhile all this may or may not actually happen in Paris, it certainly does down in the
Alps. Last autumn around Halloween we headed down to Briançon to make the best of the long weekend, and get on to those hiking trails. The train from Paris
takes us directly to an Italian alpine village called Oulx and from there we need to cross a mountain pass (Col de Montgenèvre) with a car to get to Briançon. Now, we were informed that it would be snowing quite a bit on the pass and thus
we took a shuttle bus* instead of someone picking us up (with summer tyres on
the car). And good that we did, because as soon as we left Oulx, the road was
covered in snow and more kept coming down! Pretty excitement-filled drive, I'd say...
It's always great to be back though, and every time we open the front door we can already smell the dinner that's waiting for us in the kitchen...
Over
the next three days we tried picking up hikes that would still be doable without snowshoes or skis, and we ended up having three wonderful days walking on the first fresh snow, getting lost in the quiet nature and simply just breathing the freshest mountain air!
Here
are the places and photos of each day- hope you can see why it's so easy to love this season especially in this corner of the world...
Chalets des Acles
Croix de Bretagne
Col du Buffère
TIPS & LINKS
Transportation
SNCF / TGV (direct
trains):
- High speed train from Paris (Gare de Lyon) to Oulx (Italy),
3 departures each day: 7:49, 10:41 and 14:41 (duration about 4h30)
* There is a shuttle from Oulx station to Briançon after each train, it's 10€/ way and takes about 40min
- Night train from Paris (Gare Austerlitz) to Briançon,
departs every night but times vary (arrives to Briançon the next morning)
Check schedules here.
Plampinet - Chalets
des Acles:
- A great autumn hike (especially if you’re lucky enough to
get a fresh snow in the morning!), following a small road till the little
(summer-) cabins. Gorgeous nature with fiery
orange larches and rocky snow tops just behind. Possible to continue on a
smaller path afterwards…
Fort de la Croix de
Bretagne:
- Following old military road till the fortress overlooking Briancon and the Italian side. Nice views,
not too much snow yet…
Read more here.
Refuge de Buffère
& Col du Buffère:
- Steep push till refuge, then following the valley up until the pass (Col du Buffère). From the refuge onwards there was quite a bit snow
already, but not impossible without snowshoes, but gaiters needed.
Find a General Guide to
Hautes-Alpes here.
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