Some Sundays you wake up and know you would like to do something, but you are not exactly sure what. In addition, the weather is not on your side for a long hike in the mountains, and you don’t want to go for a walk just around the block where you live. Today was one of those days; the clouds and fog was hiding the Jura mountains and keeping the Alps out of our view.
I’d seen some advertising of the Barrage de Genissiat and thought it could be interesting to give it a try. Driving there only took us 45 minutes from Pays de Gex (I’ve spent more time driving to work in Geneva).
As you’ve maybe guessed, this outing was not planned at all, and in the rainy weather a picnic was not very tempting. We decided to find a restaurant along the road – sometimes a risky project in the French backwaters, but as it turned out we had no need to worry: in the small village of Billiat, just a few minutes away from the barrier, we saw a sign for an open restaurant and decided to give it a try. The place was very un-assuming on the outside; just a beer sign and a small menu board. Turned out the restaurant is also a bar and a small hotel, apparently mostly catering for local workers. Entering the bar area, we were greeted by three senior citizens clearly working on their Sunday lunch apèro.
We were warmly welcomed, and shouts were made for the owner, who quickly appeared from the kitchen area to show us to a free table. Actually, every one of the dining tables were un-occupied: apart from the before-mentioned clients enjoying their apèro, we were the only customers in for lunch this Sunday. There was no printed menu, but the presumed owner suggested the menu de jour. I have to admit I was a tiny bit sceptical, having visited a good few restaurants where food comes off the shelf (or freezer) of the local supermarket, and where you can taste that the sauce is of the sort that comes out of a bag (just add water and stir…)
As the entrées arrived, we soon realized that everything on our table was home made. We had a terrine for starter (tête de porc – no, I won’t translate, just confirm it tasted great), followed by veal stew and gratin dauphinoise for our main course. And it was delicious! Not the fancy kind of food you get in restaurants that aspire to look twice as expensive, but the type of food your grandmother would have cooked (at least, if she was French and lived somewhere in the Bugey area). It’s really hard to come across this type of local, un-pretentious cuisine in restaurants today. All the meat was locally sourced and was tender and full of flavour. The price for a three-course menu came to only 18 Euros. I’ll surely be back, and hope that you will be visiting this place, too.
A few more words on restaurants before we start our walk (this is important, so I hope you’ll bear with me): when we first arrived in the Pays de Gex in the late 90’s, there were several family-run restaurants like this, but today, they’ve all closed down. We need to support these places, otherwise, in 10-15 years we’ll only have the choice between pizza parlours and kebab joints (apart from the ubiquitous burger places).
On with the trip. After our pleasant restaurant surprise, we rolled down the hill towards the Barrage. Now, you may not find the idea of visiting a hydroelectric dam very enticing, but this is truly a sight to behold. As you start to walk around the site you realize that this is quite a spectacular piece of construction. There’s a visiting centre where you can get a two-hour guided tour of the power plant. Unfortunately it’s not open every day, and you need to pre-register on their site in order to take the tour, so we had to stay on the outside. Still, there is a lot to see even if you cannot do the tour, so you won’t be disappointed. (If you’d like to reserve the guided tour, you can find the available dates for guided tours here, but be aware that children under the age of 8 are not allowed to enter).
The hydroelectric power plant is classified as a monument of industrial heritage of the 20th century. The work started in 1937 but was understandably halted during World War two. When the power plant was finally inaugurated in 1948, it was the biggest hydroelectric dam in Europe, nicknamed the French Niagara. The height of the dam is 104 meters, and the impressive spillway named the “ski jump” has a 65 meters drop. Imaging going down that slope in a kayak (I somehow don’t think that would be allowed, though).
The energy produced here is essential for the region,and today this dam alone represents 10% of the hydroelectricity produced along the river Rhone, allowing 700,000 households to illuminate their houses (and charge their mobiles).
As a sustainable environment project, the Barrage de Genessiat site has been chosen for a pilot project to collect the wood and vegetation floating down the Rhone river. After being collected, the driftwood is transformed into panelling, and the vegetation is transformed into energy. When crossing the dam, you can see huge amounts of wood on the upper side of the barrage (along with all kinds of flotsam and jetsam that people have managed to “loose” in the river…)
There’s a walkable circuit of some 25 minutes along the dam and the environs, with ample opportunities for picnic and rest. Written explanations are provided in several spots, all in French. Ruins of the old chateau (it must have been very small, but with an impeccable view) can be seen close to the “ski jump” waterfall, and a bit further along there’s a large park-like area where kids and adults can play on a sunny day. A trip well worth doing – and you get to learn something, too!
If you have time and more energy there is walk going up the river Rhone towards Bellegarde. The signpost for the walk can be found on the left side when you have the dam to the right. It should take approximately 2,5 hours to walk to the Belvedere des Lades and back. I will hopefully come back with an update on this walk as I did not do it this time.
Enjoy visiting Barrage de Genissiat, and feel free to share!
The Activity Factory 