Plan your visit
Barre des Écrins is one of France’s great natural sites — bring good shoes and a camera. Locate it on the map, book a room nearby in a click, or add it to your travel list to build your itinerary.
About Barre des Écrins
Soaring to 4,102 metres, the Barre des Écrins is the highest summit of the Massif des Écrins and the only French 4,000-metre peak that lies entirely within the country, far from the Mont Blanc range. A crown of rock and glacier at the heart of the Écrins National Park, it was first climbed in 1864 by the pioneers of Alpinism and remains a serious high-mountain objective, its snowy dome and sheer Barre Noire drawing experienced mountaineers each summer. For everyone else, the wild valleys below — Vallouise, the Glacier Blanc and its refuge — offer spectacular walks amid ibex, marmots and moraine. Remote, glaciated and grandly austere, the Barre des Écrins is the proud rooftop of the southern French Alps.