At the beginning of summer, I went to Chamonix to visit Aiguille du Midi, a mountain next to Mont Blanc and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area: It can easily be accessed by cable car from the valley and, with the highest viewing platform located at the 3842m summit, it offers the best view on the Mont Blanc, the surrounding glaciers and the Chamonix valley.
The Fontaine des Éléphants (Fountain of the Elephants) is a 18m-high fountain in Chambéry and one of its most famous landmarks. It was sculpted in 1838 in honour of Benoît de Boigne, a native of the city who made his fortune working as a general of the Maratha Empire in India. After coming back to Chambéry at the end of the 18th century, de Boigne bestowed some of his wealth on the town and was honoured posthumously with this monument.
Earlier this summer, I went on a guided tour of the Château des Ducs de Savoie (Castle of the Dukes of Savoie) in Chambéry. The construction of the castle was started in the 13th century to serve as the seat of the Counts (and later, Dukes) of Savoie but there has been many additions and demolitions over the years since. It now serves as the seat of the Préfecture of Savoie, so, apart from a small room near the entrance, the guided tour is the only way to visit the castle. The version of the tour I went on (called Château, Ruelles et Confidences) also included a visit of the old town of Chambéry.) nearby, which allowed access to some areas not normally open to the public. Some versions of the tour skip that part and visit the Tour Demi-Ronde (Half-Round Tower) in the castle instead.
“Annecy Paysages” is a yearly open-air festival featuring artistic and live plant installations by landscape architects, visual artists and architects who reinterpret the city’s open spaces. Just like the first edition last year, it takes place in the center of Annecy until the end of summer. Here is a map of all the artworks and the PDF brochure.
While waiting for a bus to Nantua, I stopped at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a city west of Geneva, for about an hour in early morning. I walked around, visited a park along the Rhône then went back to the train station.
The Château de Chaumont is a former castle located in the village of Chaumont in Haute-Savoie, below Le Vuache. It was built starting in the 12th century and was razed by the French in the 17th century. These days, only a few fragments of walls remain, but the hill it was built on is now a park that offers a great view on the plain below and the surrounding mountains. In very clear days, it is even possible to see the Mont Blanc.
La Roche-sur-Foron is a town in Haute-Savoie, located between Annecy and Annemasse. It used to be the capital of the County of Geneva in earlier medieval times, until it was moved to Annecy. I went there on a day trip at the beginning of Spring: I walked around the medieval town and in the nature around it.
The Bains des Pâquis are a public bath / beach in Geneva first built in 1872 on the north shore of Lake Geneva. It is open all year round, including January 1st when I visited in the early morning.
The Petite France is a historic quarter of Strasbourg. It is located at the western end of the Grande Île, which contains the historical centre of the city. Just upstream of Petite France, the River Ill flows through the Barrage Vauban, a defensive structure built at the end of the 17th century. Downstream of this, the river splits into the Canal du Faux-Rempart and four channels which flow through the Petite France quarter. These four channels are spanned by the Ponts Couverts, an earlier defensive structure of three bridges and four towers that, despite its name, has not been covered since the 18th century.
Parc de l’Orangerie is a park in Strasbourg. It has a small zoo with a large number of white storks (cigogne), the totem animal of Alsace.