From Chambéry, keep going to Aix Les Bains and then carry on towards La Biolle, Saint Germain Chambotte, and finally Chambotte.
(S) The departure point is easy to find, below the village on the edge of the D991b. It is marked by a traditional yellow band waymark at 623m altitude.
The car park is a little lower (1). There are some parking spaces on the side of the road and a few others in a layby 80m further down the paved track.
Make sure you take the correct path at the start (2) which you then follow north for about 2km until you reach the sign for "Champ Jean Blanc". This path is marked with the small double yellow bars used for mountain biking trails.
At Champ Jean Blanc, take a sharp left (3) along a path that climbs quite steeply at times. The path has regular yellow dot waymarks on the ground.
The path leads to the ruins of Château Neuf. Together with two other towers in ruins in the nearby area, this sector is also known as the "Tours de César."
At the castle, go past the small lookout point.
Then follow the path that is signposted for Barthelliet car park 200m further on.
You will come out onto a small road, (4) which you will need to take to the right, and which then joins the road for the Col de Sapenay pass 100m further on and the small chapel of Notre Dame de La Salette (5).
Retrace your steps slightly and then take the small road mentioned above, this time towards Chez Carabin.
At the last bend in the road before the buildings, take the left-hand path (6). Before long you will reach a meadow with a small wooden building where you can relax and admire the views of the lake.
Carry on along the left of the meadow and you will reach some leafy undergrowth, which made a lovely shady path (7) when I did this walk at the end of August. This long path is overlooked in many places by impressive cliffs. Just before it reaches the road, there is a climbing site at the foot of an overhang.
Walk up the road (8) towards Chambotte. Go through a tunnel just before the village and then walk gently back down to the starting point.
From Chez Carabin the path is no longer marked, but you can’t go wrong.
The Tours de César
A loop above lake Bourget for a late afternoon walk.
A walk amid historical sites and beautiful viewpoints.
Technical sheet
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Activity: Walking -
Distance: 7.11 km -
Average duration: 2h 55 -
Difficulty: Easy -
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Return to departure point: Yes -
Vertical gain: + 306 m -
Vertical drop: - 301 m -
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Highest point: 842 m -
Lowest point: 578 m
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Country:
France
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Area: Jura mountains -
District:
Saint-Germain-la-Chambotte (73410) -
Start/End: N 45.779367° / E 5.874463° -
IGN map(s): Ref. 3331OT, 3332OT -
Hour-by-hour weather
Photos
Description of the walk
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 620 m - Start; yellow sign.
- 1 : km 1.97 - alt. 727 m - Jean Blanc Field
- 2 : km 3.04 - alt. 798 m - Small road
- 3 : km 3.29 - alt. 789 m - Our Lady of La Salette
- 4 : km 3.85 - alt. 762 m - Pin above Carabin
- 5 : km 4.09 - alt. 764 m - Start of the shaded path
- 6 : km 5.88 - alt. 579 m - Route de Chindrieux
- S/E : km 7.11 - alt. 619 m - Arrival
Practical information
You will need good walking boots and walking sticks, especially for the return path under the cliffs.
In the nearby area
Within 200m of Notre Dame de la Salette, there is a series of viewpoints with information boards including one for the quarry, which briefly recounts the history of the monks who settled in the abbey on the edge of the lake later on.
Chambotte viewpoint can be reached by car along a small road from the hamlet. There is a panoramic restaurant at the viewpoint overlooking lake Bourget, which is very busy even on a Sunday evening, and a site above the restaurant that is open to the public with beautiful panoramas.
Reviews and comments
4.5 / 5
4.2 / 5
4.5 / 5
Overall rating : 2 / 5
Date of walk : Jun 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
Hello,
Halfway along the route, after turning left to go up into the forest, there are two options: either go straight ahead or turn left. There are no signs indicating the way to the César towers. We took both paths, without success! There are no signs on the ground, as indicated in the route description. We were very disappointed.
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Overall rating : 3.7 / 5
Date of walk : Apr 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
Hello,
Nice views over the lake of Aix les bains and the Rhône river
Difficult between points 5 and 6
Too much walking on the road for a group between 6 and the finish.
Narrow road with lots of traffic.
See you soon on the trails
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Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Nov 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
The route along the cliff face requires a good level of hiking ability.
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Overall rating : 1.7 / 5
Date of walk : Oct 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Busy trail : No
Very poorly signposted, too many possible routes. We couldn't even find the Caesar towers, the ruins or the chalet.
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Overall rating : 4.3 / 5
Date of walk : May 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Tour to be done in spring.grosses Chaleur attention au retour sous la falaise face au lac grosse chaleur..mais quel beauté avec des vues magnifiques...👍
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Overall rating : 3.3 / 5
Date of walk : Oct 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No
Bjr, the notion of an easy route is debatable: from point 5 to 6, you need to be well shod and poles are recommended. The slope is slippery and seems to me borderline dangerous for children! The descent is not very pleasant, as you have to be really careful where you put your feet and manage your balance, without enjoying the view.
Apart from this section, the walk is really nice, with beautiful views over the lake. The route is not very (or not at all) marked out. It's almost compulsory to use Visorando's built-in GPS: I'd probably have made several mistakes without GPS tracking.
Overall, a pleasant walk (with a bit of warning!!!).
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Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Aug 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
It's a nice walk, partly shaded, the second half requires poles in my opinion as the path is really not wide in places and on a slope with a lot of gradient alongside the path. Even though there's a bit of road walking, I think it's worth it for the view of the lake at this point.
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Overall rating : 4.7 / 5
Date of walk : Aug 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
A fine walk, with a steady but not too hard climb. After the "château neuf" you descend to the underside of the cliffs.
Although the descent is on a narrow path, it is not particularly dangerous.
The view over the lake is splendid.
As mentioned in the other comments, the end on the road back up to the Col de La Chambotte is less pleasant, but it's still a nice little hike.
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Overall rating : 3.3 / 5
Date of walk : Jul 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes
Hello
Very nice route but very poorly signposted
The last third under the cliffs is narrow and downhill with a risk of falling (gravel).
It's a shame that the last 500m are on the road.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Mar 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Shame the weather was foggy. Superb walk.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Jan 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Superb walk, accessible to all! Beautiful scenery when it's clear ☺️
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Dec 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
An absolutely magnificent hike at this time of year, as the absence of leaves means that you have an unobstructed view of the lake all the way down. The route presents no difficulties, although the path is narrow on the descent. There are plenty of viewpoints that are well worth the diversions, with a special mention for the panoramic views from the little chalet (point 4) and the cliffs (at the end of the route). Definitely worth doing again!
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Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Aug 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
hike done on a monday, there was no-one there! beautiful views over the lake, very nice, but some sections on the road less nice, I got lost at the foot of the towers of Caesar because there was nothing left on the trees and the route was winding, too bad, but I quickly found my way back afterwards, nice hike and not very complicated, but the second part is steep, and on the side of a ravine, so hiking boots and poles are essential
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Overall rating : 4.3 / 5
Date of walk : Aug 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
the description should specify that the end of the route below the cliffs is tricky for children
as the path is very narrow in places and there is a risk of falling below.
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