Sights in The French Alps
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Fort de la Bastille
These days, the strategic importance of Fort de la Bastille might have waned, but the city and mountain views it proffers are spectacular. Three viewpoint indicators explain the surrounding vistas (glimpse Mont Blanc on clear days) and panels maps out hiking trails, some of which lead down the hillside.
To get to the fort, hop aboard the riverside Téléphérique Grenoble Bastille. The ascent in egg-shaped pods, which climb 264m from the quay over the swift waters of the River Isère, is almost more fun than the fort itself. Unsurprisingly, it gets crowded in summer - leave early to avoid the worst queues.
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Aiguille du Midi
A jagged needle of rock rearing above glaciers, snowfields and rocky crags, 8km from the hump of Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) is one of Chamonix' most distinctive landmarks. If you can handle the height, the 360-degree views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps from the summit are (quite literally) breathtaking.
Year-round the vertiginous Téléphérique de l'Aiguille de Midi cable car links Chamonix with the Aiguille du Midi. Halfway Plan de l'Aiguille (2317m) is a terrific place to start hikes or paraglide. In summer you will need to obtain a boarding card (marked with the number of your departing and returning cable car) in addition to a ticket. Advance pho…
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Natural History Museum
Can't make it out of town? Take a break from the cultural circuit and get in touch with nature at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. Alpine flora and fauna, a 'carnival of insects' and an aquarium are housed in an imposing neoclassical building overlooking leafy Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Garden).
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Téléphérique du l'Aiguille du Midi
Year round the Téléphérique du l'Aiguille du Midi links Chamonix with the Aiguille du Midi; its halfway point, Plan de l'Aiguille (2317m) is an excellent place to start hikes or paraglide in summer. Be prepared for long queues, especially in summer when you need to obtain a boarding card (marked with the number of your departing and returning cable-car cabins) from the ticket desks in addition to a ticket. Making advance reservations on the 24-hour phone number incurs an around booking fee. The ascent is not recommended for children aged under two. Even in summer the temperature rarely rises above minus 10°C at the top - so bring warm clothes!
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Centre National d'Art Contemporain
Housed in the city's other architectural biggie, Grenoble's Centre National d'Art Contemporain is a must-see. Considered one of Europe's leading centres of contemporary art, it is dramatically placed in Le Magasin, a vast and hugely impressive glass and steel warehouse built by employees of Gustave Eiffel. There are two exhibition areas - a permanent 1000-sq-m space with a huge glass roof called 'The Rue' and a flexible space of about 900 sq m known as 'The Galleries'.
Charles Saatchi would be green with envy.
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Musée de l'Ancien Évêché
On place Notre Dame, the Italianate Cathédrale Notre Dame and adjoining 13th-century Bishops' Palace – originally home to Grenoble's bishops – form this museum. The rich collection traces local history from prehistory to the 21st century, and takes visitors beneath the cathedral square to a crypt safeguarding old Roman walls and a baptistery dating from the 4th to 10th centuries.
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Grenoble Museum
Over museums? Don't miss this one. The sleek glass-and-steel Musée de Grenoble houses an exceptional out-of-Paris collection - its modern core is a revelation. A masterful Matisse keeps company with playful 20th-century ground-breakers by the likes of Klee, Chagall and Léger. Surrealists star (Magritte and Miró) and the abstract comes alive (Arp and Lewitt).
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Dauphinois Museum
Ever wondered who came before the tourists and students? The Musée Dauphinois documents everyday life in the Alps - culture, craft and tradition - and has a fantastic exhibition devoted to the region's surprisingly long skiing history. Set in a beautiful 17th-century convent and nestled at the foot of the hill below Fort de la Bastille, it's worth the visit.
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Le Magasin - National Centre for Contemporary Art
Charles Saatchi would be green with envy. A European leader in contemporary art, the recently renovated Centre National d'Art Contemporain has two large exhibition areas - a glass-capped permanent space called 'The Rue' and the flexible 'Galleries'. The whole thing's wrapped in a hugely impressive glass-and-steel shell designed by Gustave Eiffel's studio.
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Chartreuse Regional Nature Park
The Chartreuse Regional Nature Park safeguards the wild forested slopes of the Chartreuse massif, dubbed the ‘desert’ by the Chartreux monks who settled here more than 1000 years ago. Since 1737 the monks have been producing a herbal liquor from a secret mix of 130 different herbs and plants.
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Museum of Resistance and Deportation
This moving Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l'Isère examines the deportation of Jews and other 'undesirables' from Grenoble to Nazi camps during WWII, and explores the role of the Vercors region in the French Resistance. Captions are in French, English and German.
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Château d'Annecy
Rising dramatically above the old town, this perkily turreted castle was once home to the Counts of Geneva. The oldest part is the 12th-century Tour de la Reine (Queen's Tower). Its museum takes a romp through traditional Savoyard art, crafts and alpine natural history.
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Palais de l'Isle
Sitting on a triangular islet in the Canal du Thiou, the whimsically turreted, 12th-century Palais de l'Isle has been a lordly residence, courthouse, mint and prison (lucky inmates!) over the centuries. Today Annecy's most visible landmark hosts local-history displays.
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Archaeological Museum
The Musée Archéologique itself sits on a rich dig. Housed in a 12th-century church, it is atop an early Christian burial site. The highlight of the funerary complex, which dates from the 4th century, is the well-preserved crypt of St Ovand.
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Jardin des Cinq Sens
Slumbering in the shadow of a 14th-century castle and enclosed by walls, the Jardin des Cinq Sens appeals to the senses through touch, sound (gurgling water), scent (fragrant gardens) and taste (edible plants).
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Musée Alpin
The town's illustrious alpine history zooms into focus at this museum; from the cliffhanging tale of crystal-hunter Jacques Balmat to the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 and the advent of winter tourism.
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Musée des Cristaux
As well as cataloguing the region's rich rocks and minerals, this museum hosts intriguing temporary exhibitions such as the history of mountaineering and the impact of climate change on mountains.
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Grotte de la Mer de Glace
Wrap up warm to experience the Grotte de la Mer de Glace ice cave, where frozen tunnels and ice sculptures change colour like mood rings.
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Maison des Jeux Olympiques d’Hiver
The highs and lows of the 1992 Winter Olympics, hosted by Albertville, are colourfully retold at Maison des Jeux Olympiques d’Hiver.
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Musée Château
In the 13th- to 16th-century castle above town, the Musée Château explores traditional Savoyard art, crafts and Alpine natural history.
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Musée de la Grande Chartreuse
The Musée de la Grande Chartreuse explores the monastery’s millennium-long history and the monks’ reclusive lifestyle.
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Plage d’Annecy-le-Vieux
If you feel like diving straight into those crystal-clear waters, head to this public beach, 1km east of Champ de Mars.
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Plage Impérial
Close to town, this privately run beach sits beneath the elegant pre-WWI Impérial Palace.
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Plage des Marquisats
This sand and shingle beach is 1km south of town along rue des Marquisats.
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Vieille Ville & Lakefront
It's a pleasure simply to wander aimlessly around Annecy's medieval old town, a photogenic jumble of narrow streets, turquoise canals and colonnaded passageways. Continue down to the tree-fringed lakefront and the flowery Jardins de l'Europe, linked to the popular picnic spot Champ de Mars by the poetic iron arch of the Pont des Amours (Lovers' Bridge).
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