The Vallons du Guiers is one of the most walkable corners of the Chartreuse mountains, and one of the least crowded. The valley is formed where two rivers — the Guiers Vif and the Guiers Mort — meet around Entre-deux-Guiers, between the villages of Les Échelles and Saint-Laurent-du-Pont. Within a …

If you are planning a trip to the Vallons du Guiers and want one village to use as a base, Les Échelles is a strong choice. It is small, walkable and full of history, and it sits exactly where the valley’s two rivers meet — which is also where its …

If you are looking for a quiet corner of the French Alps that has not been polished into a resort, the Vallons du Guiers is a good place to start. This is a working valley in the Chartreuse mountains, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France, straddling the departments of …