Route des Grandes Alpes: Lake Geneva to the Med

Parc du Belvédère is a well-maintained city park on the Avenue du Léman in Thonon-les-Bains, sitting above the southern shore of Lake Geneva. It's the natural launchpad for this route — a place to stretch your legs, get your bearings, and take in the broad expanse of the lake before the mountains close in. Rated 4.6/5 from over 500 reviews, the park offers a calm, green environment that contrasts sharply with the high-altitude terrain ahead. Give yourself around an hour here: it's a practical chance to check your rig after arriving, run through your pass-closure status for the days ahead, and ease into the rhythm of the journey. From here, the drive south-east to Chamonix covers roughly 100 km and takes around 84 minutes under normal conditions, climbing progressively into the Haute-Savoie foothills as the Mont Blanc massif begins to fill the windscreen.

The Téléphérique Aiguille du Midi is the cable car system that lifts passengers from Chamonix valley floor to 3,842 metres — one of the highest cable car stations in the world, with the Mont Blanc massif rising above. Rated 4.7/5 from nearly 16,000 reviews, this is the single most dramatic stop on the route and the only place where the scale of the Alps truly becomes visceral. Plan a full three hours here: the ascent alone takes time, and the views from the top — across glaciers, ridgelines, and into Italy on clear days — reward unhurried attention. Book cable car tickets in advance if possible, especially in peak summer; the station address is 100 Place de l'Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. The onward drive to Lac de Roselend covers 87.8 km but takes around 118 minutes due to mountain road conditions.

Lac de Roselend is a high-altitude reservoir set in a wide glacial bowl above Beaufort in the Savoie, rated an exceptional 4.8/5 from over 700 reviews. The drive up from the Beaufort valley is itself a highlight — a series of well-engineered hairpins that open progressively onto the blue-green lake and its surrounding pastures and peaks. This is a natural stopping point for lunch or a mid-afternoon break, offering open shoreline that feels far removed from the tourist infrastructure of Chamonix. A 60-minute stop gives enough time to walk down to the water's edge and take in the scale of the setting. The route onwards to Col de l'Iseran covers 82.2 km but involves significant altitude gain and takes around 149 minutes — plan accordingly and don't leave Roselend late in the afternoon.