Natural Park of Bauges : Between two lakes

With its 5.200 hectares of forests and mountain pasture, the Bauges range is a paradise for nature lovers. They can get information and ideas for excursions and discoveries at the "Maison Faune-Flore", at Ecole, and at the "Maison du Parc" at Châtelard.

It is the perfect excuse to take off on the trail of the chamois, moufflons and other cloven hoofed beasts which populate the mountains, but also of the Tome cheese of the Bauges range, a cheese with a flowered crust, which is characterized by its astonishing yellow and gold colour, and which obtained the AOC label (guaranteeing the quality of the product) in 2002.

Contrary to the Reblochon of the Aravis range, for example, the Tome cheese was manufactured by the peasants from the milk skimmed to make butter. This does not prevent it from presenting a very strong temperament and a lot of flavour, without too much fat which makes it a successful product today, as one is less hungry than formerly! This Tome cheese is made on the farms, in mountain pastures, with the milk of only one herd or it can also be elaborated in co-operatives which recover the milk of the cows of several stockbreeders.

In the chapter of curiosities of the area, one will retain the silverware of Bauges, which is in fact, and as its name does not indicate, turned wooden dishes, and also numerous caves and cascades, an impressive fortress to visit.

The Castle of Miolans in Saint Pierre d' Albigny, which controlled the passages in "Combe de Savoie", was a prison in the 18th and 19th centuries, and housed a very famous captive. The Marquis de Sade, the captive we are talking about, even succeeded in escaping, by tying his sheets to make a cord. One should make a film of it!