Self-guided walking tours in Chambéry

Chambéry's old town fits a one day walk, and the tourist office's signposted loop strings it together: the fountain, Les Halles, the castle, Rue Basse-du-Château, Place Saint-Léger, the Hôtel de Cordon and the cathedral. Gold elephant medallions set in the paving keep you on the route, and the plan is available from the tourist office on place du Palais de Justice. Aim for a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, when the market is trading and the Hôtel de Cordon is open.

The tourist office classes the elephant trail as a Comfort Walk and describes it as suitable for strollers and for wheelchair users travelling independently, with pictogram signing that helps orientation. Two caveats come with that label: the cobblestones are very uneven in places and a few streets slope, both of which can add time to the walk. Give the loop more time than you think it needs if you are pushing wheels.

Chambéry works best on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday: Les Halles trades Tuesday to Saturday mornings and closes on Sunday and Monday, and the Hôtel de Cordon opens Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons outside school holidays. The château tour runs only on published dates in seasonal windows, each with a 14:30 departure, so check the calendar before you pick a day. The cathedral closes over lunch, and Les Charmettes closes on Mondays.

No: Chambéry's old town is done on foot, so you need neither a car nor a bus ticket once you are in it. For the rest of the city, a single Synchro bus journey costs €1.40, lines A, C and D stop at Halles in the market quarter, and the network publishes timetables at synchro.grandchambery.fr. The tourist office on place du Palais de Justice also answers transport questions for the city, the mountains and bikes.

Tickets are the small part of a Chambéry day: the château and Sainte-Chapelle tour costs 7.50 euros full fare and 5.50 euros reduced, free for under 12s; the cathedral costs nothing; and Les Charmettes is free with an audioguide at 1 euro. Budget roughly 50 to 80 euros per person once coffee, lunch and dinner in the old town are added, and less if you build lunch from the market stalls.

Chambéry is quiet on Sunday and Monday: Les Halles and La Banche are shut both days. On Sunday the cathedral opens 10:00 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 from May to October, and Les Charmettes opens but not on Monday. Choose a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday if you can.

Les Charmettes, the house where Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived with Madame de Warens between 1736 and 1742, sits outside the old town, uphill on chemin des Charmettes, with a garden looking back over the city. Entry is free, the audioguide costs 1 euro, and the house opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 from 1 April to 31 October, then at weekends only from 1 November to 31 March; it closes on Mondays and on listed public holidays.

Security rules are strict at the château des ducs de Savoie, which is still the seat of the prefecture and the department. Backpacks, suitcases and strollers are not allowed inside the enclosure, group size is capped at 32 people, and you meet at the gates at the top of the stairs on place du Château ten minutes before departure. The visit is in French, and no ticket is sold at the meeting point, so arrive booked.