Route of the Gallo-Roman villa at Gilly-sur-Isère

A hike that will allow you to discover the Savoyard countryside and step back a few centuries with the Gallo-Roman ruins in the village of Gilly. The church and the castle are well worth a visit.

Details

135856
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.94 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 705 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 679 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,808 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,083 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

The route starts from the Rural Activities Centre.

(S) With your back to the Animation Centre, head right and go down the Route de Chevron, which is the D64A.

(1) Shortly afterwards, take a path on the right at the guesthouse; it rejoins the road a little further down.

(2) At the junction with Route de Gemilly, about 100m on, turn left, then after 150m turn right onto Route de Pontfet. You will pass an old chapel (the Gémilly chapel), which is now private property. Continue along Route de Pontfet as it descends.

(3) Before the pine plantation, turn left onto a path that leads onto the tarmac road behind the houses. Cross the village of Pontflet and follow the road.

(4) After the bridge over the small stream, turn onto the path on the right into the woods; it becomes very steep on the descent and emerges at Nant des Martins.

(5) Cross the stream via the bridge and follow the Route du Nant des Martins alongside it, then turn left onto the tarmac-surfaced Chemin de la Croix du Cochet. Turn left a second time onto the Route de la Pommeraie and head towards the Gallo-Roman ruins.

(6) Continue along the Route de la Pommeraie. At the roundabout, carry straight on along Rue de la Mairie. At the cemetery roundabout, turn left onto Chemin des Maures, which leads to the D64, Route de Tamié.

(7) Follow this road to the left for about 100 metres and take Chemin de la Forêt on the left. At the end of the path, emerge at Grand Bornet onto the D64 (watch out for traffic).

(8) Follow this road uphill and pass through the village of La Forêt,

(9) Then turn left onto the Chemin de Chapellan, which you will follow as it crosses the D64. Cross the road to join the Chemin de Champellan, come out onto the D64 again and follow it to the right for about 180 metres. Take the Route de Longebonne on the right to reach Place Chaix in Longebonne. Continue straight ahead along the grassy path to join the Route de Glesin.

(10) Follow this road to the left and continue straight on, climbing the small dirt track to the top. Go round the cemetery on the right and turn left onto the Route de la Grillette. Cut across the D64a, then cross the village and turn left again onto the Chemin du Stade, which will take you back to your starting point.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,713 ft
  2. 1 : mi 0.09 - alt. 1,690 ft - Narrow grassy path
  3. 2 : mi 0.28 - alt. 1,604 ft - Asphalt road on the left
  4. 3 : mi 0.7 - alt. 1,526 ft - Path before the nursery
  5. 4 : mi 1.39 - alt. 1,335 ft - Descend along the forest path
  6. 5 : mi 1.77 - alt. 1,093 ft - Bridge over the stream
  7. 6 : mi 2.13 - alt. 1,099 ft - Gallo-Roman villa
  8. 7 : mi 3.1 - alt. 1,201 ft - County road – watch out for traffic
  9. 8 : mi 3.55 - alt. 1,329 ft - Turn left onto the D64
  10. 9 : mi 3.99 - alt. 1,480 ft - On the left, a tarmac path
  11. 10 : mi 5.12 - alt. 1,585 ft - Leave the dirt track and take the road on the left
  12. S/E : mi 5.94 - alt. 1,713 ft

Notes

There are a few water sources along the route, but they contain little water and it is impossible to know if it is drinkable.
There is no shelter, except under the few trees.
Don’t forget the necessary equipment: hiking boots, a cap, a hat, etc., and water. The path following the stream is very steep going downhill, so hiking boots are essential.

Worth a visit

Mercury Castle and all the sites surrounding the hike, particularly the mountain views.

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
3.2 / 5
alainmartin77
alainmartin77

Hello
I agree with you. I didn’t find the Gallo-Roman villa very interesting; I was disappointed at the time!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, that’s very kind
Kind regards
@lain

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User 28902437

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 11, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The walk is lovely and easy. The Roman villa isn’t particularly interesting. However, I really enjoyed seeing the farm animals along the way. There’s also a very charming pottery workshop at Noémie’s farm.

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jeanlouis1961
jeanlouis1961

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

No issues

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alainmartin77
alainmartin77

Hello
We agree; when we went on that hike, we didn’t expect to find so much tarmac.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it – there are no ‘shortcuts’!
Thank you for leaving a review
@lain

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michelesuzannehenriette
michelesuzannehenriette

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Too much tarmac. We couldn’t find the shortcuts we’d been told about. That day, on the only unpaved stretch, we trudged along a rutted track with no way to get around it, and to top it all off, we had an unfortunate slip. The ruins are very disappointing. Only the mountain scenery is worth seeing.

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alainmartin77
alainmartin77
• Edited:

Hello

Actually, we had the same reaction when we did the route. We set off after mapping it out but without having checked it out beforehand; that was a mistake, because it’s true that once you reach the main road, it’s very dangerous and almost impossible to navigate.
And it’s also true that there’s too much tarmac; it’s a shame
Sorry for suggesting a route that wasn’t suitable.

@lain

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yoha2b
yoha2b

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

So, visiting the Gallo-Roman village is certainly worth it, no problem, but as for this route… I’m not sure. Luckily, it’s described in great detail on this website, because it’s a completely different story when you’re actually there… It’s a real struggle to find the paths; there are missing signs in several places, and if you don’t have GPS, you’re done for…
As for the path, the first 5 kilometres and the last 3 are a complete waste of time: tarmac, sections that border on private gardens, no pavements or footpaths, traffic... In short, dangerous and uninteresting, especially if you’re doing it with children...

So if you’re keen to visit this village, drive straight there without doing the whole route, but there’s no point starting from so high up – head straight to the centre of Gilly

As for how busy it is, we did the route in the rain, so there’s no way of knowing if it’s busy under normal conditions

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reitop
reitop

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely and informative hike, with a beautiful view of Mont Blanc from Mercury. Thanks!

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yoyette74
yoyette74

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk with stunning views, beautiful villas and well-maintained gardens.
But unfortunately, there’s too much tarmac, the road is dangerous, there’s a lot of traffic, and at No. 3, we couldn’t find any fir tree plantations!! We set off from the town hall square, which was fine.

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UCKA1400
UCKA1400

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant route through villages and hamlets.
There is a picnic area at the starting point near the car park and by the lake.

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opale
opale

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Une jolie route avec des vues magnifiques sur la vallée – parfaite pour une promenade du dimanche après-midi.
Much of the route is on roads.
It might be a good idea to set off from Gilly Town Hall to start the route with the climb.

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queyrubay
queyrubay

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

There are plenty of sections on roads, including a very busy one, so please take care. Perfect for a slightly rainy, muddy day.
Beautiful views along the way; the Gallo-Roman villa is interesting; it is possible to go directly to the Gallo-Roman villa from Stream des Martins by passing through a large farm marked as private property, but the owner allows hikers to pass through on foot.

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