Lakes · Haute-Savoie
1 Le Lac vert (Passy)
Lac Vert, in the commune of Passy in Haute-Savoie, is a natural lake of exceptional colour.
View full page →What to see in Haute-Savoie in 3 days
Haute-Savoie combines the lakes of Annecy and Geneva, spa towns, castles, gorges and the Mont Blanc massif. The variety is great, and the mountains are never far from the lakes.
This itinerary spreads the best-rated sites in the catalogue over three days. In high season, traffic can be heavy around Lake Annecy and the Chamonix valley: allow some slack.
Our day-by-day itinerary
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
Day 1 — Le Lac vert (Passy) to La cascade de Bérard
This day brings together 5 sites close to each other: waterfalls, lakes and villages. It passes through Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
2 Cascade du Rouget
The Cascade du Rouget is in the Cirque du Fer à Cheval, in the commune of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, in Haute-Savoie.
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Villages · Haute-Savoie
3 Sixt Fer à Cheval
The village surrounds an old abbey whose buildings visible today date from the seventeenth century, but which was founded in 1144 by the Augustinian monks of Abondance, one of the most important religious communities of the northern Alps in the Middle Ages.
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Natural wonders · Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval
4 Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval
A huge glacial cirque of the Giffre valley, ringed by cliffs over 500 metres high streaked with waterfalls.
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Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
5 La cascade de Bérard
A pretty path through the undergrowth leads you to the Bérard waterfall, a short half-hour from the main road.
View full page →Day 2 — Cascade du Dard to Lac Blanc (Aiguilles Rouges)
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: waterfalls, natural wonders and lakes. It passes through Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
6 Cascade du Dard
The Dard waterfall gushes above Chamonix, fed by meltwater from the glaciers of the Aiguilles Rouges.
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Natural wonders · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
7 Mer de Glace
The largest glacier in France unrolls its tongue of ice over seven kilometres at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif. From Chamonix, the little Montenvers rack railway leads to the edge of this polar landscape, now upset by the rapid retreat of the ice.
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Lakes · Haute-Savoie
8 Lac Blanc (Aiguilles Rouges)
Perched at 2,352 metres in the Aiguilles Rouges massif, Lac Blanc offers one of the most emblematic panoramas of the Alps, facing the Mont Blanc massif.
View full page →Day 3 — Les Gorges du Fier to Château de Thorens
This day brings together 4 sites close to each other: castles, waterfalls and towns and cities. It passes through Annecy. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Driving for the day: about 34.0 km, or 46 min behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
9 Les Gorges du Fier
The Lovagny region, with its famous Gorges du Fier, offers tourists attractions that contrast strangely with the luminous splendours of the shores of Lake Annecy.
View full page →↓ 10.1 km · about 15 min by car to the next stop
Castles · Haute-Savoie
10 Château d'Annecy
It was built in successive stages from the twelfth to the end of the sixteenth century, then left to decay in the seventeenth and served as barracks until 1947.
View full page →↓ 4.8 km · about 8 min by car to the next stop
Towns & cities · Annecy
11 Annecy
Nicknamed the "Venice of the Alps" for its canals lined with colourful houses, this Savoyard prefecture overlooks the clear waters of its lake.
View full page →↓ 19.2 km · about 23 min by car to the next stop
Castles · Haute-Savoie
12 Château de Thorens
Inhabited by the de Sales family since 1602, the castle is built on the old fort of 1060.
View full page →When to go
Summer is ideal for lakes, hikes and high-mountain sites, but there are many people. Spring and autumn are calmer, with beautiful light. In winter, the region becomes a large winter-sports area, and some mountain roads and sites are closed.
Getting around
A car is practical, but traffic can be heavy around Lake Annecy and in the Chamonix valley in high season. Trains and buses serve the big towns and some valleys. Cable cars give access to several high-altitude sites.
Our tips
- Allow slack in your travel times in high season.
- For high-altitude sites, bring warm clothes, even in summer, as the temperature drops quickly.
- Check the mountain weather before going up, and never venture onto glaciers without a guide.
- Book cable cars and accommodation in advance in summer.
If you have more time
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
Les gorges du pont du diable
Visited since 1893, developed to be accessible to as many people as possible, the Gorges du Pont du Diable offer a striking image of the power of erosion.
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
Les gorges de la diosaz
Born on the south slope of the Buet, the torrent reaches Servoz in a succession of seven waterfalls at the bottom of a narrow defile.
Castles · Haute-Savoie
Palais de l'Isle
The Palais de l'Isle is a former manor house dating from 1132. At the end of a courtyard is a small Orthodox chapel.
Natural wonders · Haute-Savoie
L'Aiguille du Midi
At 3,842 m, in the heart of the massif, you rub shoulders with Mont Blanc. An exceptional viewing area, partly carved into the rock, the product of an insane technological feat.
Waterfalls · Haute-Savoie
la cascade d'Arpenaz
It is 270 metres high. It is born from a torrent called "La Laiteuse". When the bise blows and sprays the water against the wall, the waterfall is christened "the bridal veil". The name Arpenaz comes from the Celtic prefix "Ar" (running water) and the Celtic suffix "pen" (rocky head). At the…
Natural wonders · Haute-Savoie
Lapiaz du désert de Platé
The Désert de Platé is a unique place where you find the largest area of limestone pavement (lapiaz) in the Alps.
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