At the heart of the Vanoise massif, the Haute Maurienne unfurls vertiginously between Modane and Mont Cenis. The Baroque Way from Aussois to Benneval-sur-Arc reveals churches with blazingly colourful wall paintings and altarpieces populated by cherubs (chapel of St Sebastian at Lanslevillard, BAvrieux church). From Termignon, the D 126 heads up to the Refuge du Plan du Lac, with its lovely view of the dent Parrachée and the Vanoise glaciers.