FRANCE 2022 Trip report Day 5: Megève, Chamonix, Semnoz, Annecy lake

 DAY 5, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

STAY 

Annecy apartment continued 

SIGHTS: 

Megeve, Chamonix, Semnoz, Annecy lake

We wanted to enjoy Alpine beauty. We started off on a drive to Megève

Megève

The charming resort town was once a humble farming village dating back to the 12th century.
However, the Rothschild family saw its potential as a skiing destination in the early 1900s,
elevating it to the luxury status that it now enjoys.

visiting the Haut Val d’Arly Heritage Museum, the Church of Saint Jean-
Baptiste, and the historic town square were our goals. but roads were blocked and there was no parking. we decided to move on

Chamonix 

Chamonix (officially Chamonix-Mont-Blanc) is a resort in the Haute-Savoie region of France, bordering Italy, at the foot of Mont Blanc.

There was free parking. We walked to the cable car station but the webcam was showing zero visibility at the top. We got out of the queue and strolled the village

The Arve (French: L'Arve} river flowing through Chamonix

Rising in the northern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps, close to the Swiss border, it receives water from the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley (mainly the Mer de Glace) before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of Geneva, 

It was a pretty sight

Jacques Balmat memorial. 

 one would assume the statues of 2 men looking toward the mountain range are memorials for the 1st 2 climbers of Mt Blonc. We are only partially right

Jacques Balmat (1762-1834) was one of the pair who first reached the peak of Mont Blanc. The statue, erected in 1887, is a popular photo spot, looking south so that Mont Blanc forms the background. But where's his climbing companion Michel-Gabriel Paccard? Not there: the second figure is de Saussure, who'd put up the prize for the ascent, and who Balmat later guided to the summit. Balmat was a very talented mountaineer, but overplayed his celebrity, and wrote Paccard out of history. Not until 1986 did Paccard earn a statue, sitting alone with his alpenstock on ave Michel Croz near the Alpine Museum

Eglise Saint-Michel de Chamonix 1709

DRIVE BACK

SEMNOZ

we  drove up to Semnoz, narrow, windy roads... the view was quite underwhelming.

we were back to our apt. we then drove to the lake.

Lac d’Annecy

The pristine Lac d’Annecy, one of the largest lakes in France, sits among snow-capped mountains

and is known as the cleanest lake in Europe.

The Pont des Amours (Lovers’ Bridge) is a beautiful iron bridge by the Lac d’Annecy, which joins the Jardins de l'Europe and Pâquier 

we went back to the apt

called it a day.

report continues here

https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2022/12/france-2022-trip-report-day-6-drive.html