Monday 12 May 2008

Funiculaire de Saint-Hilaire du Touvet







WIKIPEDIA SAYS:
The Funiculaire de Saint-Hilaire du Touvet, or Saint-Hilaire du Touvet Funicular, is a funicular railway in the département of Isère in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. It links Montfort on the road between Grenoble and Chambéry, with the village of Saint-Hilaire du Touvet, located on the Plateau des Petites Roches 600 metres above.

Until the funicular was built, the village of St. Hilaire du Touvet was accessible only on foot, or by mule. The construction of the funicular was started in 1920 and it was opened in 1924, principally to serve several sanatoria built to house tuberculosis patients.

Until 1955, the funicular was served by two 40 passenger cars. These were replaced in that year by a more modern design of car, carrying 60 passengers each. In 1992, these were in turn replaced by new cars to a retro design, not dissimilar to the original cars.
We went in the afternoon on Saturday, and the attraction at the top was to see where the parapents launch. It all looks so lovely, jumping off a cliff and soaring in the sky...
Anothe rattraction was the icecream kiosque, but that is just the difference that about 40 years makes.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hello frenchman
did you check the deltaplane takeoff?
it's a bit on the side, in the woods, but worth a look