A Slow Week in the Alps
I recently spent a week in the French Alps, on the shores of Lac Leman, visiting friends who are lucky enough to call this beautiful region home. As I was visiting and staying with friends, this post is going to be more of a photo-diary than a comprenhensive list of what to do in the area (although I’m hoping to return soon to compile a more thorough guide).
My friends live just outside Thonon-les-Bains, with views of the lake and the Swiss mountains from their house (the photos below was taken from their garden). I spent several holidays in the Alps as a child, but as this was my first time visiting as an adult, I found this to be the perfect base to explore both the coast of the lake and to head up higher into the mountains. I visited in mid-June, when the sun shone and the mercury soared every day - but everywhere we visited felt quiet. There are two main seasons in the Alps - high summer and winter - and I found my visit to be perfectly timed. Everywhere was open, the water in the lake was warm enough for long swims, but it was nice and quiet and most other people we saw were locals, not tourists.
Read on to discover some of the highlights from my trip …
Lac Leman
I wasn’t expecting to love Lac Leman as much as I did. As much as I adore being by the sea, I think I’m starting to lean more towards lakes as my body of water of choice (especially after last summer’s stay on a lake in Sweden). I swam in five different spots on the lake, and loved each and every one of them: two different spots in Publier, just around the corner from the harbour in Yvoire (this spot was wonderful), and two other bays on the outskirts of Thonon. The water was the perfect temperature for me - not too warm, not too cold. I could stay in it floating and swimming for hours. It was also crystal clear, reminding me more of the Mediterranean than the lakes that I’m used to. Most days I spent a few hours by the lake, reading and swimming - sometimes with my friends but also a couple of mornings on my own, after my flight had been cancelled (a long and frustrating story). Keen to see the water at sunset, we headed out one evening to L’O Cafe, which lies right on the water, just outside Thonon. This was the perfect place to enjoy a few cocktails and a meze board while watching the water slowly change colour.
Annecy
Keen to see more of the area, we took a couple of day trips. One place we visited was Annecy, just an hour’s drive from where we were staying. We caught glimpses of the mountains on the drive over, including Mount Blanc, it’s peak surrounded by clouds. In Annecy, we wandered the streets admiring the pretty streets and foliage, before stopping at a restaurant for lunch and a couple of drinks. In the afternoon, we embraced our inner children and hired a pedalo with a slide for a couple of hours, pedalling out into the centre of the lake to submerge ourselves in the water over and over again.
The Mountains
By far my favourite part of the holiday was our 24 hours high in the mountains, staying in a remote refuge. We drove for half an hour along winding, climbing roads with incredible views to reach Morzine, a picturesque winter sports town. We stopped just outside the town for a brisk swim in Lac de Montriond, a beautiful emerald green lake that was icy cold but wonderfully refreshing. We then continued a short drive to reach an isolated car park, where we abandoned our car and slung on our backpacks packed with everything we would need for a night in the mountains. We hiked uphill for around 5km, passing some of the most incredible vistas I’ve ever seen. Every time we turned a corner, we had to stop to admire the landscape and take photographs. Finally, after a 2.5 hour walk, we reached our destination: Refuge de Bostan, nestled close to the Swiss border beneath an impressive mountain ridge that looked spectacular from every angle. We stayed overnight in the refuge, finding ourselves in a 12-bunk room on our own as it was out of peak season. For beds for the night, a three-course dinner, breakfast, three glasses of wine each and a shared cheeseboard, we paid just 60 euro per person. It was so quiet and peaceful here, and a mecca for wildlife. We saw a beautiful bushy-tailed Alpine fox, several screaming marmots and a bearded vulture sweeping overhead. The next day, we hiked back down to our car, well rested and sad to be leaving our temporary mountain home. If you’re visiting the Alps, I highly recommend visiting a mountain refuge - I will definitely be adding one onto every future trip to the region.
