Col de la Madeleine, Mountain pass in Savoie, France

Col de la Madeleine is a mountain pass in the French Alps connecting La Léchère to La Chambre at roughly 2,000 meters elevation. The road winds through steep slopes and open grasslands offering views across the valleys below.

Franciscans from La Chambre acquired an alpine pasture here in 1345 and built a chapel to Saint Mary Magdalene at the pass; a 1761 pastoral visitation records it as the chapel of Colombe, and the ruins were never rebuilt after the late 18th century. Celliers had no road until 1937, and a modern road was built in 1968. The pass entered the Tour de France in 1969.

The pass takes its name from a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, built at the col by Franciscans from La Chambre after they founded a priory there in 1345. The chapel has lain in ruins since the late 18th century, but the name Colombe gave way to Col de la Madeleine. Mary Magdalene was considered patroness of travellers exposed to mountain dangers.

The pass road is closed from November to the beginning of June. On both sides, cycling milestones stand every kilometre, giving the distance to the summit, the current altitude and the average gradient of the next kilometre. The southern climb from La Chambre via the D213 is 19 km long, gaining 1,522 m at 8.01%.

The pass first appeared in the Tour de France in 1969 and has featured 28 times, ranked hors catégorie every year since 1995. In 2025 it served as the finish of Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes. John Ball's 1863 guide called it a mule-path much frequented by locals but rarely visited by foreigners.