Days Out – APASSION

A Summer trip to Lake Annecy

robin.tarr — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 19:08:18 +0000

Fed by mountain springs, Lake Annecy is renowned for it’s clean, clear waters and is the third largest lake in France. Whether you prefer mooching around boutique shop, stretching your legs to experience stunning views or taking to two wheels for a lake tour there is something to suit everyone.

At it’s north end is the pretty medieval town of Annecy with it’s château, canals and bridges. We recommend a wander round the old town with it’s cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings, head up to the château for it’s views over the lake or sit in one of the many cafés lining the canals and watch the world go by. Annecy offers a mix of traditional and cosmopolitan shops from the finest cheeses to the most ‘a la mode’ fashion.

Take a water taxi or pleasure boat or even hire your own pedlo or motorized boat and explore the lake. The shores are lined with beaches and pretty medieval villages such as Talloires or Menthon-Saint-Bernard, dominated by its Château of the same name.

For the energetic, there are plenty of hikes on offer either around the lake shores or up into the surrounding mountains, affording magnificent views of the town and the lake. There is also a dedicated cycle path that goes round most of the lake with just a small section on the main road. The route is largely flat with just one small climb as you enter or leave the village of Talloires (depending on which way round you cycle!) There are numerous places to hire bikes in Annecy town or around the lake, including electric bikes. The route is 40km and takes about 2 -3 hours depending on your level of ability.

A trip to Lake Annecy wouldn’t be complete without lunch at one of the lakeside restaurants on the eastern shore where you feel as though you are in the French Riviera! The idyllic village of Talloires offers more than it’s fair share of great restaurants including Le Cottage, L’Abbaye de Talloires, or if you are feeling very extravagant, le Père Bise with it’s two Michellin stars. All offer views over the stunningly beautiful port and the sparkling waters for which Lake Annecy is famous.

Music ‘O Jardin in Sixt

robin.tarr — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 13:20:59 +0000

If you’re looking for something a bit different to do during your stay in Samoëns, we highly recommend a trip to the Abbaye in Sixt, just a 10 minutes drive from the chalet, for the Music ‘O Jardin evenings. Take along a bottle of wine and a picnic and sit back and enjoy the music. It’s a fun evening for all the family!

A day trip to Lake Geneva

robin.tarr — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 16:36:37 +0000

The fourth of our recommended day trips is to the magnificent Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), one of the largest freshwater lakes in Western Europe.

In addition to the cosmopolitan city of Geneva, along the shores of the lake you’ll discover medieval villages, Unesco listed vineyards, the Montreux Riviera, famous for it’s music festival held each July, and fabulous beaches.

The city of Geneva at its southern tip is renowned as a financial hub and for the headquarters that are based there including the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the second-largest branches of the United Nations and the World Bank. But it also offers luxury boutiques and jewelers, fabulous restaurants and boasts a number of famous landmarks including the emblem of the city, the Jet D’Eau, a fountain set in the lake that shoots water up to a height of 140m clearly visible for miles around. It is worth taking half a day to wander along the lake shore, visit the old town and have a stroll through the botanical gardens.

Geneva is also home to CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, a European research organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. You can visit anytime to see the permanent exhibitions but if you want a free tour of the facility you have to book online 15 days in advance.

A drive around the southern shores of the lake will take you to the beautiful medieval villages of Nernier, Yvoire and Margencel that are a delight to explore. Park the car and have a wander around the cobbled streets, visiting the craft shops, artisanal workshops and boutiques and their tiny ports before enjoying a leisurely lunch or coffee at one of the numerous restaurants along the waters edge. You could even take a ferry ride across the lake and explore one of the many towns on the northern Swiss side of the lake including Nyon or Vevey.

If you have time visit the Jardins des Cinq Sens in Yvoire and the Domaine de Rovorée..

Les Jardins des Cinq Sens is a picturesque sensory garden featuring some 1,300 varieties of plants, all carefully chosen to appeal to the five senses.

The Domaine de Rovorée is a 24-hectare nature park on the shore of the lake to the east of Yvoire and a leisurely 20-minute walk from the village. This protected area is a haven for wildlife and boasts a centuries-old forest of chestnut trees.

A drive along the northern shores of the lake will take you through the Montreux Riviera, home to the town of Montreux and the Unesco listed Lavaux vineyard terraces. The steep vineyards arranged in terraces are crisscrossed with walking trails and bike routes with magnificent views across the vineyards and lake to the Mont Blanc range. Take a walk or cycle through the vineyards and then stop to enjoy some winetasting with one of the many winegrowers in the area. Alternatively the ‘Train des Vignes’ takes a mere 12 minutes to wind its way from Vevey through the vineyards up to Puidoux-Chexbres where you can stop to do a tasting of local produce before hopping onboard again for your descent back to Vevey.

Finally, if you happen to be staying with us in July then a visit to the Montreux Jazz Festival is a must! Its stunning setting on the shores of the lake make for a perfect evening. Free music events are staged throughout the day/evening or simply stroll amongst the artisanal craft stalls and food markets before settling by the lake with a glass of wine and enjoying the famous Montreux atmosphere. Of course there is also the option to purchase tickets for one of the many pay venues hosting a wide range of international stars. Famous artists such as David Bowie, James Brown, BB King, Prince, Elton John and Arlo Parks have all starred here.

Trip to Sixt Fer-à-Cheval

robin.tarr — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:53:44 +0000

Closer to home is the village of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, a quick 10 minute drive or 20 minute cycle from the chalet.

Sixt is home to the natural wonders of the Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval, the Cascade de Rouget, the Gorges des Tines as well as a magnificent 12th century Abbey.

The Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval is a Réseau des Grand Sites de France (https://www.grandsitedefrance.com) and is part of the Sixt-Passy Nature Reserve, a natural amphitheatre formed by limestone escarpments which rise dramatically around you as you enter the Cirque. In spring and after heavy rainfall more than 30 spectacular waterfalls descend from the rock face down into the area below. There are numerous walking trails within the Cirque of different levels of ability enabling visitors to explore this natural wonder. The walk to the Bout de Monde (end of the world) is a relatively easy walk with a gentle incline to the head of the valley. If you fancy something more challenging then you can take the walk up to the Buvette du Boret where you can look down over the Bout de Monde and the Cirque. You could also continue up to the Lac de la Vogealle via the Refuge de la Vogealle.

From the village of Sixt Fer-à-Cheval you can also head to the Cascade de Rouget, also known as “The Queen of the Alps”. This is one of the most powerful waterfalls in the French Alps, it’s torrent falling dramatically over 80 metres. The road passes right by the waterfall giving a birds eye view of the water powering over the rocks. At the end of the road is a café with magnificent views down the valley towards Sixt. You can just stop for lunch or a drink or chose one of the many walks that start from this point including the Pointe de Salle via the Refuge de Salle or the Lac d’Anterne via the Refuge Alfred Wills.

The village of Sixt marks the start of the descent of the River Giffre via the Gorges des Tines to the village of Samoëns. You can chose between white water rafting, kayaking, hydrospeed, airboat or canoraft. There are a number of companies offering equipment rental and guiding down this challenging but thrilling stretch of the river.

There is also the opportunity to experience Via Ferrata at La Mont, opposite the Gorges des Tines. Via Ferrata was developed during the First World War as a way of enabling mountain troops to access seemingly inaccessible areas. Foot plates, metal rungs, ladders and swing bridges assist your passage and a steel cable running along the length of the route, to which you connect, prevents you from falling. The via ferrata at La Mont offers a superb panorama of the Pointe de Salle and the village of Sixt below.

In summer the Abbey in Sixt plays host to an open air music concert every Wednesday evening. Take along a picnic (an a bottle of good wine) and enjoy a convivial summers evening with friends or family in the grounds of the Abbey.

Chamonix in Summer

robin.tarr — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:56:19 +0000

One of the many attractions about Samoëns is it’s proximity to so many well-known places and landmarks, from the blue glacial hues of Lake Annecy to the snow covered peaks of the Mont Blanc range in Chamonix.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be exploring a few of our favourite places to give you a taste of some of the things you can do when staying in one of our properties in the summer.

The focus of this update is Chamonix, famed for it’s iconic mountain range and in particular Mont Blanc standing at 4,810m.

No matter what your level of ability or age there is something amazing for everyone in Chamonix.

For the active there is an abundance of hikes in the valley with spectacular views in every direction, some with the option to stop for a well-earned break at a mountain refuge. You can even take one of the many ski lifts up to reach greater heights!

For the kids then there is the fun park, Domaine des Planards, with it’s summer luge or the animal park of Merlet, a magnificent 50 acre park facing the Mont Blanc range and sheltering more than 80 wild animals most of which are native to this area.

Thanks to the various transportation options in the valley you can reach a high altitude without much effort. Take a ride on the fabulous Tramway de Mont Blanc, the highest railway in France, opened in 1909, up to the start of the classical ascent of Mont Blanc, or take the Montenvers rack and pinion railway up to the Mer de Glace and take a tour of the ice cave carved into the very heart of the glacier. The Aiguille du Midi cable car takes you up to an altitude of 3,777m from where you have a 360 degree view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Here you can embark on the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable car for a 50 minute trip above the glaciers and into Italy.

A trip to Chamonix wouldn’t be complete without a stop at one of it’s many fabulous restaurants. A personal favourite of ours is La Cabane des Praz. You can’t beat the views from their terrace on a sunny day overlooking the golf course of Chamonix with the Mont Blanc massif in the background!

An unforgettable day-trip to the Aosta Valley

robin.tarr — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 14:43:12 +0000

Fancy something a little Italian on a day trip out from Samoëns?

In just over an hour you can be sitting in the picturesque piazza in Courmayeur sipping an espresso with the majestic Monte Bianco as your backdrop. Continue your journey through the stunning Aosta Valley with its terraced, vine clad valley sides and it’s numerous castles. Stop for lunch in the historic town of Aosta, known as ‘Rome of the Alps’ and savour some local Italian delicacies.

After lunch explore the ancient Roman ruins before heading to Cogne through the beautiful Valle di Cogne, one of the entry points into the Gran Paradiso National Park, just to the south of Aosta. All this and you can still be back in Samoëns in time for dinner!

A ride on the Tramway du Mont-Blanc!

robin.tarr — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 09:22:50 +0000

Wow! What an incredible train ride that has to rate amongst the best in the world!

Having been on the Rocky Mountaineer through the Rockies in Canada we all agreed that this has to surpass even that! The views were absolutely phenomenal.

The Tramway du Mont Blanc, which celebrated its 100^thanniversary last summer, is a miracle of alpine engineering and is the highest rack railway in France. It’s creators’ dreamt that one day it would reach the top of Mont-Blanc!

We caught the train from Le Fayet, just outside of St-Gervais, from where it climbs steeply to the open pastures of the Bellevue plateau passing villages hidden in dense pine forest before eventually terminating at the Nid d’Aigle at 2,380m. The Nid d’Aigle (or Eagle’s Nest) is the starting point for the classical ascent of Mont Blanc hence the rugged and heavily laden climbers on the train! From here you have the option of a 1 hour return walk taking you to the Glacier de Bionnassay, or the shorter 10 minutes ‘hike’ to the well equipped Refuge du Nid d’Aigle, which must make for one of the most panoramic lunch stops in the Alps.

Aside from the walks from the Nid d’Aigle there are a number of hikes commencing at the different stations along the line ranging from around half an hour to 4 hours. There are also a couple of restaurant options where you can disembark from the train and have a drink or a spot of lunch – we tried the Le Courant d’Air at the Col de Voza and enjoyed some traditional Savoyard cuisine, Croutes and Tartiflettes.

As a day-out the Tramway du Mont Blanc definitely rates as a must see when you next come to Samoens!

Fête du Lac Annecy – A Pyrotechnic wonder

robin.tarr — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 07:20:22 +0000

If you’ve never attended the Annecy ‘Fête du Lac’ then you are most definitely missing out on an incredible spectacle of fireworks and lasers. The annual event, described as the biggest firework display in Europe, attracts thousands of visitors to the medieval town of Annecy, and is set on the shores of the lake of the same name.

After much anticipation we drove to Annecy this week (just an hour from Samoëns) to experience this much recommended event for ourselves and we certainly weren’t to be disappointed.

The theme of the evening was the colours of the rainbow and we’d never seen a firework display like it; the sky was permanently alight with a mix of beautifully choreographed fireworks, lasers and 10 metre high water jets all accompanied by a wide range of music.

The 90 minute display included more than 5 tonnes of fireworks from over 50 firing positions, most of which were floating barges out on the lake. The effect was totally mesmerising as the colours reflected off the surface of the water – we really didn’t know where to look!

Given we only paid €10 each for our tickets, which gave us access to the lawns by the Imperial Palace, the views were amazing. We’ll definitely be back next year and hope to book early enough to get tickets for the seated area right at the front of the spectacle so as not to miss a thing!