Ouzo, Schnapps, Rosé & Prosecco

[Jacques Vert]

Evian - The home of Evian Mineral Water.
being a Diamond member, we had free breakfast and access to the Executive Lounge for €127 per night compared to $$$$ in Geneva.

As my +1 said, hotels in Geneva can be very expensive: Marriott have a couple of hotels ranging from CHF900 to > CHF1,000, although one of them has a senior discount rate for just under CHF700

There are cheaper hotels such as the HIX at the airport for about the same $ as the Hilton in Evian; but for my money, the Hilton seemed like a better idea. We are going to check out the HIX anyway in a week or two as we are meeting a special friend at the airport early one morning.

Also, as +1 stated, Evian is a handy spot being located roughly two-thirds of the way along the southern shore of Lake Geneva (opposite Lausanne) which allowed us to visit some nice spots, as you will see.....

 

[Gem56]

The next day we caught the ferry over to Lausanne. The wharf is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel and is €39 return. We were advised to purchase the "City Ticket" which gives "Hop-on, Hop-off" access to the trains and buses.

As it was a public holiday for Ascension Day, everything other than the eateries was closed and the town was very quite.

 

[Gem56]

The Cathedral of Notre Dame

Wikipedia: "Construction of the Cathedral began as early as 1170 by an original unknown master mason. Twenty years later another master mason restarted construction until 1215. Finally a third engineer, Jean Cotereel, completed the majority of the existing cathedral including a porch, and two towers, one of which is the current day belfry. The other tower was never completed. The cathedral was consecrated and dedicated to Our Lady in 1275 by Pope Gregory X, Rudolph of Habsburg, and the bishop of Lausanne at the time, Guillaume of Champvent.[1]The medieval architect Villard de Honnecourt drew the rose window of the south transept in his sketchbook in 1270. The Protestant Reformation, in particular the variant which came from nearby Geneva, significantly affected the Cathedral. In 1536 a new liturgical area was added to the nave and the colourful decorations inside the Cathedral were covered over. Other major restorations occurred later in the 18th and 19th century which were directed by the great French architect, Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.[2] During the 20th century major restorations occurred to restore the painted interior decorations as well as to restore a painted portal on the South side of the Cathedral. New organs were installed in 2003. "

 

[RooFlyer]

We arrived at Geneva airport on the Swiss side, however we had a car booked from the French side. No problem... just walk through a doorway - monitored by a customs person, checking to ensure that we have actually arrived by air on an international flight, and voilà. In France without even leaving the terminal.

JV booked a rental car to be collected from the French side of the airport because it was approx €350 cheaper for a 13 day hire; that's a saving of almost EUR27 per day! We collected a Peugeot 2008 with less than 4,000 kms on the clock - no "Surprices" here.

Bookmarked this post ... once again I'll be following you in France - flying into Geneva next February and hiring a car and heading into France Thanks for the tips!

 

[Gem56]

It was suggested to us that, as Lausanne is very hilly, it's best to catch the train to the top and then walk down.

The Cathedral in my previous post is at the top. We roamed around the very sleepy town for a bit.

 

[Gem56]

We walked down for a bit then jumped on a train. It's hard to get the perspective here, but it's quite a weird experience getting off the train onto a sloping platform.

 

[Gem56]

Although it was sleepy in the business areas, it was quite the opposite down along the lake. It was humming with families, couples and friends enjoying the day away from work and school and the glorious weather.

We decided to stop and have a cool refreshment and quickly decided that, although it was lunchtime, we weren't at all hungry. The couple at the table next to us had a beer, glass of wine, pizza and a pasta dish. The cost was CHF55, approx A$80. Although we knew Switzerland is expensive, we were still a little surprised.
















Excellent play equipment that our grandchildren would love

 

[Gem56]

Lausanne is headquarters to the International Olympic Committee and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball.

Beau Rivage Hotel





The Olympic Museum


Headquarters for Fédération Internationale de Volleyball






Séquoia géant

 

[Gem56]

Time to catch the ferry back to Evian. When we purchased the ticket we were asked if we wanted 1st or 2nd class. The journey is only 35 minutes, so why one would pay for 1st class is mind boggling to me.

Ferry timetable


1st Class


2nd Class


Ferry wharf on Lausanne




Views approaching Evian

 

[Gem56]

5 mins walk from the ferry terminal is the funiculaire also known as “the little Evian subway” and is the only funicular in France to have six stations.

 

[Gem56]

Buvette Cachat is the stop, second from the bottom, for the Evian Water Source - free flowing spring water, where lots of people fill their bottles from the fountain.

 

[Gem56]

Hotel Royale is the 3rd station from the top, however the sign suggests that you continue on to the top. There is a little walk from the station, that is well sign posted, past the equestrian centre, to a fabulous viewing point.







The 2003 G8 Summit took place in Evian-les-Bains, France, from 1 to 3 June 2003, in the Royal Hotel.

Funimag could not miss this opportunity to publish an article about the Evian-Neuvecelle funicular which is located in the real center of the G8 forbidden area!

Evian-les-Bains is located on the southern shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman in French) in the northern part of the French Alps, in the Department of Haute-Savoie. (Funicular - Evian - Neuvecelle)

​

 

[Gem56]

A few shots of Evian and surrounds

 

[Gem56]

 

[Gem56]

A short drive (in Australian terms) - 1½ hours to Annecy. A very pretty area plus a nice drive to get there.

The day we were there the old city was crowded and there were queues at all of the parking stations, of which there are many. The spaces are all monitored telling you how many spaces are available, and they were all full. We managed to find a station where the queue was the shortest and it didn't really take too long before we were in.

We then discovered that because the day before (Thursday) was a public holiday, many people took the Friday off work and made it a long weekend. We're assuming that Annecy is not normally that crowded, however can't guarantee that.







We had lunch at the Creperie Bretonne. Delicious! People were queueing for tables, however service was excellent so the wait was not long.

 

[Gem56]

The melting snow creates a beautiful colour in the canals and lakes.

 

[Gem56]

 

[I love to travel]

Am going to Annecey in August via bus from Geneva. Any further tips/recommendations for Annecey without a car? It looks beautiful.

 

[VPS]

Beautiful photos and scenery

 

[ellen10]

We loved our stay in Annecy. Food was delicious. We hired bikes and road along the lake, a very pretty ride. They also have great produce markets with lots of people from the surrounding farms selling their produce.