My wife and I are flying to Geneva in June. We will be flying out of Paris 9 days later. We will have about two to three days available to make our way from Geneva to Paris. Any ideas for destinations along the way. We have both only been to Paris, never anywhere else in France. Lyon seems like a possibility but we are pretty open. Train is preferred, although we could drive.
There’s a wonderful town called Annecy on a pristine lake just across the French border, with canals and loads of charm. It’s barely an hour drive from Geneva. There’s a 3-start there I’d very highly recommend called Clos des Sens, and they have expanded it to include a very high end boutique hotel should that appeal. Their non-gastro restaurant is very worthy, too. I’m not a big Lyon fan myself as it’s gotten quite gritty, but acknowledge this may be an off-consensus view.
Jonathan
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My wife and I used Annecy as a base in June last year to do day drives to Italy, Switzerland and nearby French towns, including Lyon.
I’ll throw in my huge +1 to the earlier suggestion on stopping for at least 2 nights… Venice of the Alps.
Another idea is Arbois in Jura. Loved our stay 7 years ago and longing to return for the charming towns, the wines (of course) and the awesome local foods.
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If you want something wine-centric, Beaune is obvious. Or Chablis, or Champagne. You could drive to Beaune, then drop of the car in Dijon and train to Paris.
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Thank you all for the suggestions, much appreciated. Annecy looks like a great idea.
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i can third annecy
stunning lake town
a little town right outside called talloires has some nice small hotels and a michelin ** restaurant called pere bise
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I’d also suggest Annecy, and continuing on to Chambery and the Savoie/Isere. Some wonderful wines here from regional varietals (Mondeuse, Grignet, Persan…) that are scarce in the US, plus vermouths, genepis, and other things (the various Chartreuse products, for example). You’d want to drive if visiting the wineries,
Mike - although one could certainly make a case for Burgundy or Rhone regions, I will second (or 5th, by now) Annecy as a wonderful place to stay. We visited for a week in early September last year, and loved it so much that we are returning for two weeks in May. The old town is wonderful, with canals running through it, and mountains in the distance. The Lake gorgeous (Billed as the cleanest in Europe) and food and wine superb. We couldn’t ask for a better place to stay. Close to Chamonix, Switzerland and Italy for day trips.
Air BnB type lodging was relatively inexpensive. We planned on going in June, but the owner of the Apartment we will be staying in warned us that the period of 9-18 June will be the most expensive time of the year, due to the World Animation Festival taking place in Annecy during that time.
We did not get to dine at the 3* Clos de Sens as it was closed 3 weeks for vacation during our stay, but did love our lunch the at the beautiful 2* Pere Bise in Talloires, on the Southeast side of Lac d’Annecy. We did not eat out much during our stay, as the local Farner’s market (Sun, Tues, Fri) had an abundance of food at reasonable prices for home cooked meals.
Restaurant Per Bise at Tallories - Grounds
Savoie Wine (Corentin Houillon) on our balcony
Sunbeam on our balcony on Thiou Canal, Annecy
Night view from Balcony
Farmers Market Annecy (Sun, Tues and Fri)
Reataraunt Pere Bise from Lac D’Annecy
Farmers Market snack and Savoie (Apfel) wine on the balcony
Catwalk through Gorges du Fier, a few miles outside Annecy
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I have been to Geneva quite a few times for work and for some reason I never felt drawn to the city. Depending on your purpose for the Geneva part, it might be worthwhile considering staying in Annecy and commute to Geneva.
It could allow you to visit some other place on your way to Paris as well.
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Thanks all for the great comments and suggestions. We are mainly staying in Geneva a few days because it was a good deal on miles for business class. Zurich was 295k vs 155k to hop to Geneva.
We have scheduled 3 days in Annecy before heading to Paris but feel free to comment further with any good ideas or suggestions on day trips from Geneva or Annecy. Or any further restaurant suggestions.
I used to spend four weeks a year in Geneva for business. Agree with some of the posters that indicated it’s not much to see. Boat cruise, Jet d’Eau, and old town. I loved staying at La Reserve, owned by Reybier of Cos d’Estournel. Summer season is $$$$$. For something less expensive East West Hotel is a decent option.
For fondue - head to the old town to Hotel des Armures.
Annecy is lovely and in addition to Pere Bise, I’d also recommend Yoann Conte Hôtel Restaurant Yoann Conte, Bord du Lac, boutique Hotel in Annecy, France – Relais & Châteaux
We’ve stayed when it was run my Marc Veyrat and also under Yoann. The breakfasts are exquisite.
There are some other small towns around Lac Leman worth stopping on both the French and Swiss sides - Chateaux Chillon, Montreaux, Lausanne, and maybe Evian-les-Bains. It’s a longer trip to Gruyeres or Bern but both are worth a stop.
Pérouges France, Annecy, Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, Burgundy. Colmar is a bit out of the way, but might be worth it.
Aosta in Italy.
Exhilarating 2 hour drive from Annecy (shorter from Geneva) literally through the Mont Blanc in the Alps. Aosta, the town, is a pretty Italian alpine town with quite a bit to explore. Of course, eating real Italian food is a big +.
Lyon.
An hour and a half drive from Annecy for a great lunch and just to hang out.
La Cave Annecy and Midget are both great places to drink in Annecy.
As has been mentioned, Jean Sulpice is special, and for me, preferable to Yoann Conte.
Maison Aribert, in the hills outside of Grenoble, is a gem as well.
Chamonix is an easy drive, Hameau Albert 1er is a great hotel.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions for this trip. We enjoyed our 3 days in Geneva and Annecy. All of our restaurant choices were based on our desire to be more casual, we were not looking for any 3 star type experiences on this trip. We find we just don’t have the stamina for that so much anymore and barely do it at home.
Flying into Geneva worked out well for us as we did not feel we had to sightsee nonstop and could catch up on sleep. We stayed at the President Wilson right on the lake. Great pool.
I loved that Geneva offers free public transport for those staying in hotels. We took the bus and tram to dinner each night and it was convenient. First night we ate at Les Armures and of course had fondue. Enjoyable, lots of tourists there but still the food was good as was the service.
Next night we ate at Le Micheline, a Michelin one star. This was a great meal. Food was on point and service was friendly. Chef is from the Basque country which partly drew us to the restaurant and we spent a while talking to him at the end of the night, as it turns out his father tooled around Sonoma County in a VW Van back in the day.
The last night we ate at Cafe du Centre and sat outside drinking wine and eating oysters. We also had a sea bass for two that was great. Excellent people watching. Nothing extraordinary but enjoyable place to be in the thick of things.
We took a day trip to Lausanne via train one day. Great views of the lake and vineyards from the train. Walked around town and went to the Olympic Museum. It happened to be the 30th anniversary of the museum the day we were there and they were setting up for a big party but we still got in and saw everything. Great museum. Had all the torches back to 1936 Berlin, shoes from Jessie Owens to Ben Johnson and all kinds of other exhibits. Really enjoyable. Lausanne itself was beautiful, views from the Cathedral spectacular.
We drank almost exclusively Swiss wine while in Switzerland (almost all whites as we ate mostly fish). It was interesting to try the local wines. Not sure I had ever had Chasselas before.
Next was Annecy. We took a car service since we did not want to deal with the luggage. Expensive for such a short trip. We stayed at Hotel Pelican, just a five minute walk to old town. Very reasonably priced, across the street from the Lake. We were upgraded to a Lake View room. Small rooms bur really well thought out. Very helpful staff. Highly recommended if traveling with kids or not looking for a huge splurge. Around $300 a night, with a great cafe on the ground floor.
Annecy was spectacular. Looked like a movie set to me. Old town was pretty crowded and it was hot (upper 80’s but we enjoyed it). Twice we rented bikes and road around the lake, and on day 2 picnicked and swam. Reminded me a bit of a Lake Tahoe vibe. Bike path around the lake is really accessible and easy, even my wife was not nervous and she is a bike phobic.
We ate at L’Esquisse and Cozna in Annecy for dinner. L’Esquisse is a one Michelin star tasting menu with only option being number of courses. Food was excellent. It is a small and quiet place. Too quiet for me probably. We opted for the 5 course and were full but I think they also have a 6 course and another even more involved menu. Interesting wine list with local wines. Staff speaks English, service was good.
Cozna is far more casual and you can choose a prix fixe or order dishes. Also a very small place but food was very good and service warm. Also staff speaks English. Sat next to a German couple and ended up spending 45 minutes talking with them at the end of the night. Interesting to hear perceptions on visiting the US from Europeans. Striking up conversations with strangers around the world is the best part of these trips.
Other dinner was on the deck at the Pelican hotel overlooking the lake. Weather was perfect for evening dining outside.
We also had random lunches in old town which we picked just walking around (both were good) and ice cream a few times. Power of suggestion as everyone was walking around with ice cream.
Annecy was pretty crowded as we got there on Saturday but Monday was far more low key. Overall we loved the town. Every time we told someone we were going to or had come from Annecy all we heard, whether in Geneva or Paris, was how much everyone loves Annecy.
Every person we encountered in Geneva and Annecy was friendly and we received good service in all the restaurants. Everyone spoke English very well and willingly, more than Paris. From Annecy we took the high speed train to Paris, where we finished our trip.
Don’t know if we will ever make it back to Annecy given how much there is to see in the world, but I could see spending a week or two there after I retire…
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