Châteaux of Chambéry, the Combe de Savoie and the entrance to Tarentaise to visit on the ski resort route, winter 2026-2027
Ski route in Savoie: six castles to visit between Chambéry and Tarentaise
Val Thorens announces its opening on 21 November, La Plagne on 12 December: on the route to the ski resorts, six castles from Chambéry, the Combe de Savoie and the entrance to Tarentaise are well worth a stop, from the ducal Sainte-Chapelle to the Miolans prison.
Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux ·
Sur la route des stations
Every winter, the same ribbon of cars winds up the valley: Chambéry, the Combe de Savoie, Albertville, then the gorges of the Isère to Moûtiers, gateway to the Three Valleys. Val Thorens announces its opening for 21 November 2026, La Plagne for 12 December, and the Christmas holidays begin on Saturday 19 December. On this route that we usually follow with our eyes glued to the sat-nav, the House of Savoy scattered its fortresses: it was along this road that its counts controlled the passage to Mont-Cenis and Italy. Here are six castles, from the ducal capital to the last tower before Moûtiers, with what you can actually see of them in the depths of winter.
Did you know? Two unexpected guests of the Combe de Savoie
Donatien Alphonse François, marquis de Sade
1740-1814
Condemned to death in absentia in Aix-en-Provence after the Marseille affair of 1772, Sade fled to Savoy, then under the rule of the King of Sardinia. Arrested in Chambéry at the request of his in-laws, he was imprisoned in Miolans in December 1772. He escaped on the night of 30 April 1773 with his valet Latour and a fellow prisoner, Baron de Songy.
Boniface de Savoie
vers 1207-1270
Son of Count Thomas I of Savoy, he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1241 thanks to his niece Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry III of England. Returning to the Alps late in life, he died in 1270 at the castle of Sainte-Hélène-des-Millières, now Sainte-Hélène-sur-Isère: a primate of England extinguished on the banks of the Isère.
Planning your stops in December
The route on the map
From Chambéry to the gateway of Tarentaise
The six castles in the order of the journey to the resorts: Chambéry, Montmayeur on the left bank of the Isère, Miolans on the right bank, Sainte-Hélène-sur-Isère and Tournon near Albertville, then Briançon in the gorges before Moûtiers.
Markers follow the suggested visiting order. Select a castle to open its page.
Read next
On the trail of Béatrice de Faucigny, the Great Dauphine, in Haute-Savoie
Selection of Valais castles linked to the rivalry between the House of Savoy and the Bishops of Sion, to visit in autumnValais: 5 castles between Savoy and the Bishops of Sion to visit before Tourbillon closes
Legends and ghost stories in French castles10 haunted castles in France and their legends
Sources