Nantua: The Glacial Lake, Sauce Nantua and the Little Canada of the Bugey
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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200
XP
+100 France
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1 day
Nantua: The Glacial Lake, Sauce Nantua and the Little Canada of the Bugey
200 + 100 XP
The glacial lake of Nantua fills the floor of a cluse between limestone cliffs, 2.7km long and 42.9m deep. The town gave its name to sauce Nantua, made with crayfish butter from the crayfish that once filled its rivers and lake and served with fish quenelles, and the museum of the Resistance and Deportation of the Ain, opened in 1985 in the old prison, holds more than 15,000 objects. Ten kilometres away, the mountain lake of Genin, at 850m among firs and spruce, is known as the little Canada of the Haut-Bugey.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk the shore the full 2.7 km length of the lake, from the monument to the deported on the Nantua bank to the western end, with the limestone walls of the cluse closing in on both sides over water 42.9 m deep
2
of 5
Order quenelles with sauce Nantua in the town and check they are made the local way, with at least 22 per cent pike flesh, under a sauce whose butter comes from crayfish shells cooked, pounded and filtered
3
of 5
In the museum of the Resistance and Deportation of the Ain and the Haut-Jura, find the cells of the mid-19th-century town prison the collection was installed in, and work through its holdings on the maquis of the Ain and the secret army
4
of 5
Walk the circuit of the lac Genin, only 380 m long and 8.15 ha at 850 m in a Jura forest of firs, spruces and broadleaves, the site nicknamed the little Canada of the Haut-Bugey
5
of 5
In the Cluniac Romanesque church of Saint-Michel on the place d'Armes, find Delacroix's Saint Sébastien secouru par les saintes femmes
Walk the shore the full 2.7 km length of the lake, from the monument to the deported on the Nantua bank to the western end, with the limestone walls of the cluse closing in on both sides over water 42.9 m deep
Order quenelles with sauce Nantua in the town and check they are made the local way, with at least 22 per cent pike flesh, under a sauce whose butter comes from crayfish shells cooked, pounded and filtered
In the museum of the Resistance and Deportation of the Ain and the Haut-Jura, find the cells of the mid-19th-century town prison the collection was installed in, and work through its holdings on the maquis of the Ain and the secret army
Walk the circuit of the lac Genin, only 380 m long and 8.15 ha at 850 m in a Jura forest of firs, spruces and broadleaves, the site nicknamed the little Canada of the Haut-Bugey
In the Cluniac Romanesque church of Saint-Michel on the place d'Armes, find Delacroix's Saint Sébastien secouru par les saintes femmes
Before you go
The Fête de la quenelle sauce Nantua is held each October during the semaine du goût.
Swimming at the lake's nautical installation is supervised only in July and August. Launching or running a motorboat needs prior authorisation from the mairie of Nantua. The lac Genin is about 10 km from Nantua by the D13 through the Oyonnax communal forest.
The museum of the Resistance and Deportation opens on 15 March and is closed on Tuesdays; its two published seasons disagree about the autumn end — the town says 15 November, the regional tourism service says 2 January — but both have it shut from early January to mid-March, so ring 04 74 75 07 50 before a winter trip. The lake of Nantua is walkable all year on the shore path. The lake of Genin sits at 850 m in the firs and is under snow in winter, which is the point of its nickname but also means the road up and the circuit need winter tyres and boots.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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