The region of large lakes      

Hundreds of lakes and ponds, mostly located in the Ain, Dauphiné, Savoie and Haute Savoie, bring an icy cool freshness to the summits during summer heat waves. 

They make up a total area of 35,000 hectares. 

Lake Geneva or Lake Léman

Covering 58,326 hectares, Lake Geneva is shared between France and Switzerland, and features well-known towns such as Thonon, Divonne and Evian on the French side.  It is a real inland sea and the 50km of French shoreline are often known as the Little Riviera. 

The mild climate is thought to be beneficial for stress-related conditions.  Trips on the lake are popular, especially on board a traditional Savoie fishing vessel. So romantic…

Lac d'Annecy

Annecy’s lake, just 50 km away from Lake Geneva, offers 2,700 hectares of the purest waters in Europe and luxurious shorelines. It’s in Talloires that American tourists are most at home.  And who can blame them…?

Annecy Lake and the château de Duingt

Lac du Bourget

As for France’s largest natural lake (over 4,000 hectares), the Lac du Bourget is also the deepest and the most romantic… having inspired some of the finest poetry by Lamartine.  The towns of Bourget du Lac and Aix les Bains have long been admired.  Particularly by the British who left numerous architectural legacies and even a statue of Queen Victoria, who came regularly to take the waters.

Numerous species of freshwater fish live in these various stretches of water, including char, polian and perch, all of which are served up in local restaurants.

Cruise the Canal de Savière - lac du Bourget

Mountain lakes

We shoudn’t forget the pretty mountain lakes either, set high up at over 2000 m altitude and frozen over in the winter.  Some of these include the Lac de Roselend in the Beaufortain, Lac du Goléon at 2450 m in the Oisans mountain range and the Lac Blanc at 2352 m altitude that can be reached by footpath and from where you can enjoy a fantastic panoramic view over the Aiguilles de Chamonix and Mont Blanc. 

The Lac de la Plagne is situated at an altitude of 2,144 m and the unrivalled colour of its waters is due to its depth.

Courtesy of Rhone-Alpes Tourist Board, Images

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