[Excursions.]—The house which Jean Jacques Rousseau inhabited is on the height called the Charmettes, 395 ft. above and 2 m. from Chambery by a pleasant road shaded with walnut and plane trees. It is a mere cottage. The room to the right on entering was the dining-room. It contains in a drawer his watch, opposite the window his bookcase, and hanging on the walls, facing each other, the portraits of himself and of Madame de Warrens. The next room was their sitting-room; here are his card-table and mirror. The room above was madame’s bedroom, and the one over the dining-room Rousseau’s. From the garden the view extends to the Dent de Nivolet, 4597 ft., ascended from Chambery in between 5 and 6 hrs.; guide advisable. View not equal to that from the [Dent du Chat] (p. 282). The pretty walk to the Bout du Monde, at the foot of the Dent de Nivolet, by the bank of the Laisse and the gorge of the Doria may be made in little more than an hour. Omnibus in 45 min. to the cold sulphurous iodo-bromuride springs of [Challes] (p. 284).
PARIS
MODANE 376 55 [LES MARCHES], a straggling village at the foot of a hill crowned by the chapel and image of Notre Dame de Myans. To the S.W., 4 hrs. there and back, are the Abimes de Myans, lakes between conical hillocks, formed by a partial landslip of Mt. Granier.
PARIS
MODANE 378 53 [MONTMÉLIAN], pop. 1200. Inn: Voyageurs. Junction with line to Grenoble, for which change carriages ([p. 338]).
St. Pierre d’Albigny. Aiguebelle.
PARIS
MODANE 358¼ 45¾ [ST. PIERRE D’ALBIGNY], 971 ft. ([map, p. 291]), pop. 3300, 1½ m. from its station. Inns: At station: H. des Voyageurs. In town: Croix-Blanche; Soleil. Junction with line to Albertville, 14 m. N.E., whence diligences to Annecy, 28 m. N., passing close by Ugine, 1755 ft., and through Faverges; Inn: Poste. Diligence also to Moutiers and Bourg St. Maurice on the road to the Little St. Bernard, one of the easiest of the Alpine passes (see [p. 321]). From St. Pierre take the N. window of the carriage to have a proper view of the immense cones and pinnacles of calcareous rocks, which tower in many places almost vertically above each other. These lofty walls afford protection from the chilling blasts to the pretty villages, vineyards, orchards, and maize fields; which places only at a little distance from these mountains do not enjoy. Vineyards cease a little above St. Michel, 2400 ft., but patches with vines may be seen within 3 m. of La Praz. Up to La Praz the mountains are cultivated more or less in terraces. Higher up the valley of the Arc they are too steep and arid.
PARIS
MODANE 332 39 [AIGUEBELLE], pop. 1100. H. de la Poste. Village close to station. Arch to Charles Felix. The valley now begins to widen.
PARIS
MODANE 409 22 [LA CHAMBRE], pop. 800, on the confluence of the Bugion and the Arc. Afterwards, to the right, is the valley of the Glandon.
PARIS
MODANE 414½ 16½ [SAINT-JEAN DE MAURIENNE], pop. 3200. Inns: Europe; Cheval Blanc; Voyageurs. The cathedral, founded in the 15th cent., contains the mausoleum of Count Humbert, and some beautifully carved stalls. The arcades of the cloister are of alabaster, and were constructed in 1452. In the neighbourhood are the argentiferous mines of Rocheray and the saline thermal springs of Echaillon.
PARIS
MODANE 421 10 [ST. MICHEL], pop. 3000. A village on the Arc, 2323 ft. above the sea-level, in a hollow at the foot of high mountains. Inn: Poste, near the post office. From St. Michel the Alpine region commences. The next station is La Praz, 6 m. from St. Michel, 3140 ft. above the sea.
Modane.