DAY 6
Paddle boats on Annecy Lake, walking tour of Annecy’s historic old town
After breakfast, we were back in the car to continue further south. We were headed to Chamonix in the French Alps, where we’d stay the next two nights. On the way there, we decided to take a bit of a detour to spend part of the day in Annecy.
After 2 1/2 hours of driving and some extra time to find parking (surprisingly not easy to do in this town), we were ready for a break. The beautiful Lake Annecy was the main motivation for our visit, and it did not disappoint!
After a quick stop at local brunch favorite La Bicyclette Rose, we made our way to the collection of boat rental agencies at the perimeter of the lake. There were motorboats of various sizes, but I had my eye set on one particular watercraft: a paddleboat with a slide.
We spent a glorious couple of hours paddling across the lake and swimming in its crystal clear water. But of course, all good things must come to an end, especially when paying €24 an hour. So we eventually paddled back to the shore to return the boat and ventured onward to check out Annecy’s historic old town.
Walking around the old town felt like stepping into a fairytale. The same aquamarine water from the lake flows into the canals; this combined with the brightly-colored houses and lively touristy atmosphere gives the area a Disney vibe. It’s no wonder this town is nicknamed the Venice of the Alps.
We followed another one of our guidebook’s self-guided walking tours, which was primarily a stroll around the scenic canals. By 4:00 pm we were headed back to our car to continue our drive onward to Chamonix.
Another 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived to Chamonix and pitched our tent at the campground we’d call home for the next two days. Worn out from a full day of driving and touring around, we grabbed some food from the on-site food truck and headed to bed.
Where we stayed: Camping de la Mer de Glace
DAY 7
Lift to Aiguille du Midi & Mont Blanc, Grand Balcon Nord hike to Mer de Glace
We woke up bright and early to make it to the Aiguille du Midi lift just as they opened.
I had failed to buy tickets in advance (that’s what you get when you plan last-minute), and while it seemed unlikely the lift would be fully booked, we didn’t want to risk it. So we arrived at 8:30 am and easily secured a spot on the 9:00 am lift.
We piled into the lift with a dozen or so people and away we went! About 10 minutes later we arrived to the first stop, midway to our final destination. We stayed on and after another 10 minutes or so we arrived to Aiguille du Midi.
Immediately as we exited the cable car we were met with some pretty unreal views.
The station has a number of viewing platforms, both indoor and outdoor, which give you a complete 360-degree view. We watched on as alpinists geared up and eventually set out into the snow, well equipped with skis and ice-picks. Apparently some days you can even see paragliders jumping from the edge.
If the view isn’t trilling enough, you can also pay a bit more for a few terrifying moments in a fully-glazed box that gives you the feeling of standing on air thousands of feet in the air. This struck me more as an opportunity to wow your followers on social media than a can’t-miss experience, so we decided to pass.
After an hour or two spent taking in the view, we joined the queue to catch the lift back down. Instead of going the full way back, we stopped off at the midway point that we passed earlier, Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille. From here, we started off on the Grand Balcon Nord hiking trail.
This was hands-down one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. We had the most perfect weather (apparently not always a given in Chamonix) and the views were absolutely incredible. The trail followed cut through gently-sloping grassy meadows covered in yellow and purple wildflowers, interrupted only by the occasional rocky outcrop or cluster of cedar trees.
The hike covered 6 km (3.7 miles) in all and took us around 3 hours with a few stops along the way.
The hike ended at the spectacular Mer de Glace, a valley glacier that’s situated between a series of rather pointy mountain peaks. We visited in Summer, so only the tail end of the glacier was visible, but the view was still phenomenal nevertheless. Amazingly, the Mer de Glace is actually the largest glacier in the French Alps and the second largest in all of the Alps!
The trail ends conveniently at a hotel’s restaurant with a lovely view. We grabbed a drink before catching the adorably old-fashioned Montenvers cog train back to Chamonix.
We were completely exhausted from our day and had no energy to cook anything ourselves, so we decided instead to pick up a to-go pizza from The Dainty Pizza and take it back with us to the campground.
DAY 8
Scenic drive along the Route des Grandes Aples with an overnight in Mont-Dauphin
We originally planned to spend two full days hiking in Chamonix, but the weather had other plans. Apparently the weather in this region is notoriously unpredictable, so when we saw that a severe thunderstorm was moving in, we decided to shift our plans ahead a day.
Day 8 and 9 were largely spent in the car driving from Chamonix to the French Riviera. If you take the fastest route between the two, the drive takes around 5 hours. We instead opted to take the scenic drive along the Route des Grandes Alpes, which tasks nearly twice as long but as you’ll soon see, was absolutely worth it!
The majority of the drive was on mountain roads with plenty of hairpin turns and sheer drops — not a drive for the faint of heart or for those prone to motion sickness. This stretch of road is commonly included in the Tour de France and we shared the road with a good number of serious bikers.
I wanted to give us plenty of time so we could enjoy the drive and not have to rush, so we split the 9-hour drive over two days, stopping for an overnight stay near the midway point at Mont-Dauphin.
We managed to avoid bad weather our entire drive, and just as we entered our hotel in Mont-Dauphin the rain finally caught up with us. The storm kept us inside for the night, but we didn’t mind the excuse to take it easy and rest up for another day of driving.
Where we stayed: Auberge De L’Echauguette
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger three-week road trip around France. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
