GREAT DESTINATIONS ❘ ANNECY MOUNTAINS
Meanwhile, in a quaint workshop-boutique, you can meet Didier Perillat, an artisan leather worker who makes craft leather bags and belts, as well as the elaborately crafted leather harnesses from which hang the traditional cow bells. And in the village centre the new Aux Comptoirs des Alpes is a delicatessen selling mouth-watering specialities from the Savoyard region.
BEAUTIFUL VALLEY
South of these ski villages, in the heart of the Aravis range, lies the beautiful valley of Manigod. Visitors come here to stay in traditional chalets, to walk or cycle, or just to enjoy the clear air and sunny micro- climate and the dramatic vistas opening out across the valley. If you come here, make sure you stop off at Lo Garâjo, a friendly concept café – like something from a trendy quartier of Paris, but with Alpine views. All this fresh air and walking can have a dramatic impact on the appetite, and it is a pleasure to discover that there is a surprising variety of choice when it comes to eating out. There are plenty of cafés where you can enjoy home-cooked Savoyard specialities such as tartiflette au reblochon, finely sliced charcuterie or
“RIDE A SKI-LIFT AND TAKE A STROLL ON THE HIGH PASTURES, OR HIRE AN ELECTRIC BICYCLE AND ZIP UP THE MOUNTAIN LANES”
Clockwise from top:
Come to the Manigod valley to enjoy its sunny micro-climate; artisan leather worker Didier
Perillat; trendy café Lo Garâjo; la Fromagerie Pierre Gay, Annecy; Patrick Chautant at
the Cuillère à Omble; cheese is a way of life up here
A short drive further up the mountain brings you to Le Grand-Bornand, a charming ski resort village which actually receives 40 per cent of its annual tourist activity in the summer months. It’s a stunning location for skiers of all levels, but what is it that brings so many people here outside the winter season? Perhaps it’s the way the community has embraced that most elusive thing: the art de vivre, and the way it proudly celebrate its heritage.
ANNECY ESSENTIALS
Geneva airport is 35 minutes from Annecy by car. Geneva city is 1 hour 40 minutes by train.
www.annecymountains.com
www.laclusaz.com
www.legrandbornand.com
www.lac-annecy.com
Some of the chalets here date back to the 1700s, when the farmers lived in the front room, the animals were in the back and the spaces above (which now sport geranium-bedecked balconies) were where the hay was left to dry. And always, just across the lane at a safe distance, is the little barn belonging to each chalet, a place to store your valuables in case of the (ever present) danger of fire in the main house. This appreciation of heritage goes hand in hand with a much more contemporary approach to celebrating village life. The Parcours de l’Art Vache (Cow Art Trail) is a suite of murals, sculptures and paintings which celebrate the grass-chewing star of Le Grand-Bornand. Le Café des Artistes is a former bistro now turned exhibition space to demonstrate the old artisan arts and crafts of the village. This sense of fun extends to the hugely popular international Festival au Bonheur des Mômes (the Kids’ Happiness Festival), which takes place here every August.
126 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Apr/May 2020
a raclette or fondue, washed down with some craft beer from one of the region’s micro-breweries. Locals venture to the very end of the road (literally) at the Col des Annes (covered in snow in the winter) to savour the potato fritters at the rustic farm-café La Cheminée. For more gourmet tastes, pole position goes to Marc Veyrat’s Les Maison des Bois at Manigod – book well ahead if you want to savour this creative Michelin-starred cuisine inspired by the produce of the Haute-Savoie. Back down the mountain, on the shores of Lake Annecy, lies the restaurant of Jean Sulpice, famous for being the youngest ever French chef to receive a Michelin Star and who was named the Gault & Millau chef of the year for 2018. Stéphane Dattrino, Georges Paccard and Laurent Petit are the other names to look up for Michelin-starred cuisine. The Annecy Mountains offer something for everyone. Cycling, hiking, paragliding, canyoning and other adrenaline-inducing pursuits are widely available. But you don’t need to be young and especially fit to enjoy the region. Ride a ski-lift and take a stroll on the high pastures, hire an electric bicycle and zip up the mountain lanes, catch a ferry across the lake to appreciate the astonishing clarity and colour of the water, relax in an Alpine spa or enjoy a beauty treatment, or just indulge in some fine eating out – and all this surrounded by spectacular scenery and wonderfully clean air. FT
IMAGES © LE GRAND-BORNAND TOURISME, PHILLIPE RIGOLLOT, JULIE MUGNIERY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
