Saint-Jean-De-Belleville: Mountain Trails, Chapels and Beaufort

Chapels, Churches and Mountain Villages

Saint-Jean-de-Belleville brings together religious buildings and mountain trails. At churches and hamlets, you can discover when they were built and the local architectural styles; on hikes, details about distance, walking time and elevation gain help you gauge how much time to allow.

The Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste stands on a promontory and was built in the 17th century. Its rosary altar depicts five of the fifteen Rosary scenes in total; there are also two other altars. Guided visits can be arranged on request through the mairie déléguée of Saint-Jean-de-Belleville. If you would like to see the interior furnishings, enquire there in advance about a visit.

The Chapel of Notre-Dame des Grâces was built in 1740–1741 on a Greek-cross floor plan. Its roof is crowned by a cupola lantern and a small bell tower above the entrance. Inside are three altars, including one with a Cordouan leather covering. The chapel lies halfway between Villarly and Saint-Jean-de-Belleville, on a rocky spur, and offers views of the mountains.

La Sauce is considered the best-preserved village on the route to Plan Lombardie. Its distinctive rural buildings illustrate how construction adapts to a hillside. The Chapel of Saint-Barthélemy in La Sauce dates from before 1633 and was renovated in the 2000s. La Flachère has a small chapel of Romanesque origin; the coats of arms of the Archbishops of Tarentaise can be seen on its bell tower.

Mountain Trails and Elevation Profiles

The route to Plan Lombardie starts and ends in La Flachère, Saint-Jean-de-Belleville. It is listed as an out-and-back route covering 12.1 kilometres, with a walking time of about 1 hour 30 minutes. It is rated “very easy,” with 474 metres of ascent and 469 metres of descent.

The figures are different for the ascent to Cheval Noir from La Sauce: this out-and-back route is 14 kilometres long, with a walking time of seven hours and 1,241 metres of both ascent and descent. The stated walking times, distances and elevation figures make it easy to compare how much time the two hikes require. From the summit of Cheval Noir, at 2,832 metres, the 360-degree view stretches across the Lauzière range. There is also a metal sculpture there depicting a rearing horse.

The dense Forêt de Longefrasse also shapes the landscape through its protective role: it shields settlements from avalanches and holds back soil and rocks during rockfalls.

Beaufort and the Refuge at Plan Lombardie

Beaufort is one of the local products you can find here. La Ferme des Combes in La Sauce produces Beaufort d’alpage in summer. Beaufort cheese is also made and sold on site at the Combes mountain pasture; it is a 20-minute walk from La Sauce. Production and sales are seasonal, so check local availability before visiting.

During the season, the refuge at Plan Lombardie serves homemade meals, desserts and tarts, some of which feature very local products. The refuge also has solar panels that can be used to safely charge e-bike batteries. Before your hike, check locally whether the charging facility is currently in operation.

Discover more destinations: Notre-Dame-De-Bellecombe, Aime, Les Déserts, Modane, Flumet, Montagny, Queige, Saint-Franc.

For the regional travel overview: Savoie.