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Europe : France : French Alps

French Alps

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The French Alps are part of the large European chain of mountains know as the Alps. They are primarily known for their outdoor activities, which include skiing and mountaineering. Lesser know but still popular sports in the region include white water rafting, golf and paragliding. The region is also noted for its stunning beauty, including many alpine lakes, the largest being Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), Lac d'Annecy and Lac de Bourget; these lakes are year-round attractions for their beauty and access to numerous water sports.

The French portion of the mountains are also home to famous resorts towns Chamonix, St. Gervais, Albertville, Grenoble where the Olympic Games took place in 1968, and Annecy with its old city and lake.

Regions

Mountains

Départements

Get in

The French Alps are well connected to the rest of the country. It has an international airport nearby of Grenoble (Grenoble Isère Airport), also Lyon and every cities has a direct TGV (fast train) to Paris. Many towns are also connected by TGV or ordinary trains. There are also highways in many valleys. There is also the international airport of Geneva (Switzerland) nearby.

Cities

Other destinations

Ski resorts

Water sports

  • Lake of Aiguebelette (World Rowing Cup ? in ?)
  • Lake of Annecy
  • Lake of Bourget
  • Lake Geneva - Currently the Societe Nautique de Geneve and the mercenary team of Alinghi holds the America's cup.

Understand

Talk

Get in

Get around

See

Itineraries

Do

The beautiful terrain around the French Alps means that there is plenty to do all year round and that people can try a range of diverse and exciting activities. The area is of course most famous for its skiing however visitors flock to the area for a variety of other activities including mountain biking.

Eat

The French Alps have also great many restaurants and are especially famous for its numerous varieties of cheese.

Drink

  • beer is good

Stay safe

Get out

This page was last edited at 02:26, on 17 December 2008 by Peter Fitzgerald. Based on work by Dave Stanley, david walsh, Paul N. Richter, Yann Forget and David Le Brun, Wikitravel user(s) Djr32, DorganBot, Wojsyl and Huttite and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.