Mountain life in Modane

Lac du Mont-Cenis is located in 1974m altitude in the Savoie, France.

Modane, Savoie. Savoie is in the 73rd French department and is located in the Alps in Eastern France, in the Rhône-Alpes administrative region. It's very mountainous and incredibly beautiful.

Modane is a small place, and when you step out of your apartment onto the street, there's nothing happening, even if you take a longer walk. So, peace and quiet are guaranteed. At least, we have enjoyed our time here immensely so far. The nearest boulangerie is right across the street, and since our workday starts at 7 AM (since it is 8 AM in Finland), it's very convenient to have breakfast close by. The limited availability of events ensures that there's plenty of time to work as well. I'm currently working on two website projects, so my days are pretty much filled with work.

Here, you can, of course, hike in incredible landscapes and, naturally, capture the beauty of nature - We've done both. With breathtaking scenery, landscape photography is rewarding in itself, but if you're looking to add more edge to your photos, the area is dotted with numerous fortifications because the Maginot Line from World War II also passes through here.

The Maginot Line is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Nazi Germany. It was constructed on the French side of its borders with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium.

The fortifications themselves are quite impressive, and they are strategically located at high points with stunning panoramic views of the surrounding area.They are so densely packed that you can find about 20 of them within a 50 km radius of Modane, just by quickly looking at a map. 

Fort Replaton is the closest fortress to us, and it's about two kilometers away (with quite an uphill climb). It was built to defend the entrance to the railway tunnel through the Alps to Italy in the late 19th century. You can find a picture of Fort Replaton in the gallery below, it's the second one from the right and here is also reel from there.

Sanctuaire Notre Dame du Charmaix keeps the place of the first picture. It's a 16th-century church built into the rock in a narrow pass, which you reach via a stone bridge over a waterfall. So, there's no shortage of incredible sights here - it's absolutely amazing! It's not far from our home, so I'm sure we'll spend many sunrises and sunsets in this place enjoying the view and taking photos.

Additionally, below are some pictures of random landscapes. Practically, when you go to the grocery store, you encounter all this beauty along the way. It's almost ridiculous - it shouldn´t be that easy!