One of the pearls of the Pays Voironnais ! Nestled in the heart of a beautiful green environment, it's a setting open to many sports and relaxing activities: lazing on the beaches around the lake, swimming, picnics with family or friends, nautical activities, fishing, walks on foot, by bike or in a horse-drawn carriage...

Did you know?

It is the 5th French natural lake of glacial origin by its size: 6km long and 1km wide. At an altitude of 500m, it owes its beautiful turquoise colour to the lacustrine chalk (nope it's not "mud"!) which covers its funds!
A mecca for underwater archaeology, it also has a thousand stories to tell... To be discovered at the new Paladru Lake Archaeological Museum.

Swimming…

With waters at 25 degrees in midsummer, the crystal clear waters of Lac de Paladru are suitable for swimming. A relaxation area just a few kilometers from Grenoble and Lyon! You are welcome to the supervised beaches located in the municipalities around the lake: Charavines, Le Pin, Montferrat and Paladru. Apart from these sites and their surveillance periods, for your safety and by prefectural decree, swimming is prohibited.

Montferrat plage

Montferrat beach

Charavines Plage

Charavines Beach

Le Pin plage

Le Pin beach

Plage Municipale de Paladru

Paladru Municipal Beach

Plage Beau Rivage

Beau Rivage Beach

Are you into swimming pools or spas?

Outdoors or indoors, there are also swimming-pools to bathe at. The choice is yours. And if you'd rather enjoy a moment of relaxation, discover our well-being spaces with spas.

Lake Paladru is of course many water activities ! Cruises on a sailboat, rowing, rental of pedal boats, windsurfing boards, stand up paddles or canoes... Long-distance skippers or freshwater sailors will necessarily find what they are looking for!

Activités d’eau

Water activities

Locations nautiques

Nautical rentals

Naviguer en liberté

Navigate in freedom

The greenway for a walk...

Ideal for walking safely and in peace, it connects Charavines to Paladru, via the "Chemin des marais" (the marsh path) -dotted with 4 discovery-stations of the remarkable flora and fauna of the sensitive natural area- and the "Bois d'Amour" (the love wood) .

Greenway of Lake Paladru
230 rue des Bains
38850 Charavines

04 76 93

Calculate my route

… And relaxation areas to take a break!

Picnic on the tables at your disposal, let the children enjoy the wooden games, have a cold drink at the Comptoir du Bois d'Amour or at the Véronnière snack bar.
Please note that swimming is prohibited on these sites.

Aire de détente Le Bois d’Amour

Le Bois d'Amour relaxation area

Aire de détente La Véronnière

La Véronnière relaxation area

Good to know

The Love Wood is the only path by the lake, through shadow and light, away from the road and offering two beautiful platforms to admire the panoramic view! It makes for a beautiful walk accessible in a round trip from Charavines (2,5 km).

A paradise for fishermen

With their two pits 35m deep, the waters of the lake welcome a wide variety of fish. Perch and pike for predators, but also whitefish, arctic char, roach, tench or bleak inhabit the lake in large numbers. Their growth rate is also the highest of the great Alpine lakes.

Pêche au lac de Paladru

Fishing at Paladru Lake

Archeology & Museum

The new archaeological museum has opened its doors in the town of Villages du lac de Paladru in Paladru.

The MALP (Museum of Archeology from the Lake of Paladru) invites you on a captivating travel through time to the Neolithic era and the year XNUMX. Through the exceptional remains discovered under the waters of the lake, meet the people who lived there so long ago.

Musée archéologique du lac de Paladru
Cultural heritage

Paladru Lake Archaeological Museum

If Lake Paladru is a magnificent playground with swimming, fishing and all water activities on its beautiful blue waters, it is the surrounding hills which will offer you the most beautiful views! Meet on the paths, departing from the towns around the lake, with a wide choice ofhiking routes, trail routes and mountain bike routes, which will lead you to magnificent panoramas as well as to the discovery of local heritage. For a walk on the banks of the lake, take the Greenway which connects Charavines to Paladru.

The first essential place is the Archaeological Museum of Lake Paladru (MALP), opened in 2022 in Paladru. It is a wonderful showcase for all the riches found during underwater archaeological excavations, all these objects, real treasures which will allow you to discover the history of the first inhabitants on the shores of the lake.

Then, a stone's throw from the lake, discover the Tithe Barn with its remarkable framework which hosts a rich and varied program every year from May to September: exhibition, workshops, guided tours and its unmissable ‘Festival Les Nuits Hors la Grange’!

If you are a gourmet, to taste or discover local products, several possibilities are available to you: the local know-how shop at the Tourist Office in Charavines, the markets, directly from producers or finally the restaurants 😉

Finally, the lake is only about fifteen minutes from Voiron, birthplace of the famous green liqueur, the famous alcohol-free and sugar-free Antésite drink, the succulent Bonnat chocolates….

Nestled in the hollow of beautiful green hills, Lake Paladru is a little hidden, perhaps you have even passed nearby without knowing it or seeing it?!

Less than 1 hour from Grenoble, Lyon, Valence and Chambéry (by car), the blue lake is easily accessible via the A48 exit no. 9 Péage de Rives or via the A43 exit no. 10 Péage des Abrets.

To better locate it and find out how to get there, go to our page ‘Getting around'.

To enjoy swimming, go to one of the 4 beaches where swimming is supervised: Montferrat Beach, Charavines Beach, Le Pin Beach and Municipal beach of Paladru.

Please note that only Charavines beach is free for all.

Outside of these sites and their surveillance periods, for your safety and by prefectural decree, swimming is prohibited.

You can come to Lake Paladru for free and park your car for free. For the camping-cars a parking and service area is accessible to Charavines or the family Montferrat campsite.

There is a charge for supervised swimming on the beaches of Montferrat, Paladru and Le Pin. You will also have to pay a navigation fee for an outing with your paddle, canoe, boat or windsurf. Find detailed information on our pageNavigate in freedom'.

It is difficult to answer this question, because as the saying goes ‘as many men, as many different opinions’!

However, the beaches are not alike and each have their own particularities:

- Paladru municipal beach : it is a large grassy area which will accommodate your towels and foutas, there are some shaded areas but bringing your parasol is strongly recommended on sunny days. For swimming, you will walk on pebbles (water shoes can make the experience more comfortable) and the water quickly gets deep. The +: nautical rentals (paddle, pedal boat, etc.), restaurant, Archaeological Museum of Lake Paladru 50m away.

- Montferrat beach : it is also a beautiful space but the grass area is smaller, so to lie down comfortably on the pebbles, carpets or mattresses will be your allies! Here the swimming area, also with pebbles, offers you a gentle slope ideal for families with young children :) Children who will enjoy a beautiful playground and a volleyball court. Parasol essential to protect yourself from the sun. The +: rental of deckchair and parasol pitches, restaurant, campsite.

- Le Pin beach : the beach is more intimate, less extensive than its neighbors to the North, it nevertheless offers a beautiful expanse of grass for lounging. A few lime trees will offer you a little shade, but parasols and other light sun-blocking equipment are recommended. As for swimming, here too your feet will tread on pebbles after going down the few steps to the water. Note that depending on the height of the lake (often high at the start of the season) there may not be a small pool. The pros: restaurant with beautiful terrace and 180° view of the lake, snacks and drinks at Charly’s at the entrance to the beach.

- Charavines beach : the beach welcomes you over a large area, either grass or pebbles (fine to medium) with little shade until the end of the afternoon, parasols recommended! The swimming area here offers a really gentle slope and shallow water swimming. You will also find pebbles there but also lake chalk (no, no it's not mud) which can provide a strange sensation between the toes... The +: the beach restaurant and its beautiful terrace, proximity to shops and other restaurants in the village.

La lake greenway, on the east bank, is accessible by bike, on foot, by scooter, by rollerblader and allows a safe stroll along the lake. It is in the Bois d'Amour, just after Charavines, that you will enjoy the most pleasant strolling space: at the water's edge, below the road, in the shade of the trees, where benches and platforms are there to offer you a very pleasant contemplative break.

Or get some height on marked trails on foot or by bike, the hills around the lake are home to numerous routes and routes.

Feel free to contact our teams for personalized advice, by telephone on 04 76 93 17 60 😉

Our ideas for walks or bike rides

N°6 – Petit Tour du lac de Paladru
ATV

N°6 – Small Tour of Paladru Lake

25.4 km Difficult 743 D +
Le tour du lac de Paladru
Walking

Around Paladru Lake

21.3 km 5 p.m. quite difficult 677 D +
Sur la trace des Chartreux
Walking

On the trail of the Carthusians

10 km 2 p.m. Moderate 182 D +
La Croix des Cochettes, un panorama sur le lac de Paladru
Walking

La Croix des Cochettes, a view of Lake Paladru

2.9 km 1h Easy-to-use 113 D +
N°5 – Plaine de Blaune
ATV

No. 5 – Plain of Blaune

15 km Moderate 304 D +