Novel - Les Planches: From the Shore of Lake Geneva to Haute-Savoie's Smallest Village

Novel - Les Planches averages 7.5% over 10.9 km (6.8 mi), with remarkably little variation.

Saint-Gingolph to Novel (km 0-8): About 564 m (1850 ft) of gain at roughly 7.1%. The first kilometer out of town is one of the steeper ones at 7.8%, and kilometers 2 through 7 hold steady at 6.8-7.5%. Kilometer 8, into the village, is the easiest at 5.9%.

Novel to La Planche (km 8-10.9): About 251 m (823 ft) of gain at roughly 8.4%, the hardest part of the climb, with kilometers of 8.2%, 8.9% and 8.1% to the end of the pavement.

The steepest kilometer averages 9.2%, the steepest 5 km (3.1 mi) average 7.8%, and the steepest 400 m reach about 10.4%.

Provisions: Saint-Gingolph has shops, cafes and restaurants on both sides of the border, so stock up there - Novel is a village of a few dozen people, and La Planche is just a trailhead, so do not count on buying anything on the climb.

Gear: A compact crankset is plenty for the steady 7-8% grades. Because the road is shaded and north-facing, the descent can be cold and damp even when the lakeshore is warm, so pack a light layer. Watch for leaves, damp patches and gravel in the shaded forest corners on the way down, especially in spring and autumn.

Saint-Gingolph is a border village with a story. The Morge torrent splits it in two: until 1569 it was a single community, but the Treaty of Thonon left the land on the far side of the river to the Valais, and it has been half French and half Swiss ever since. The two halves still share one parish, which makes the Swiss side the only place in Switzerland under a foreign diocese, and the château, built in 1585-1588, became the Swiss side's town hall around 1900 and also houses a museum. On the French side, the Monument des Fusillés on the Rue du 23 Juillet 1944 marks the day in 1944 when occupying troops set fire to the village after a Resistance attack - almost the entire population of the French side fled into Switzerland.

Up the hill, Novel has its own history with its lakeside neighbor: the two communities fought over alpine pastures from the 13th to the 17th century. Its parish church dates to around 1763, with a bell tower added in 1889, and was rebuilt after a fire in 1924. A marked hiking trail links Saint-Gingolph and Novel if you want to explore on foot, and the trailhead at La Planche is a starting point for walks beneath the Cornettes de Bise.

Because the upper road faces north and holds snow, conditions at La Planche can be very different from the lakeshore in spring and autumn. Check current conditions before you go with our Weather tool.