Chambéry was founded at crossroads of ancient routes through the Dauphiné (Dôfenâ), Burgundy, Switzerland, and Italy, in a wide valley between the Bauges and the Chartreuse Mountains on the Leysse River. The metropolitan area has more than 125,000 residents, extending from the vineyard slopes of the Combe de Savoie, almost to the shores of the Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France. The city is a major railway hub, at the midpoint of the Franco-Italian “Lyon-Turin Ferroviaire” rail link.
Chambéry is situated in the south-east of France, 523 km from Paris, 326 km from Marseille, 214 km from Turin, 100 km from Lyon and 85 km from Geneva. It is found in a large valley, surrounded by massif des Bauges to the east (dominated by le Nivolet, upon which la croix du Nivolet is found), le Mont Granier (Chartreuse) and la Chaîne de Belledonne to the south, la chaîne de l’Épine (the most southern mountain of the Jura) to the west and le lac du Bourget to the north.
The Fontaine des Éléphants (“Elephants Fountain”) is the most famous landmark in Chambéry. It was built in 1838 to honour Benoît de Boigne‘s feats when he was in India. The monumental fountain has strikingly realistic sculptures of the head and forelimbs of four lifesize elephants truncated into the base of a tall column in the shape of the savoyan (savoyarde) cross, topped by a statue of de Boigne. At first, the landmark was mocked by the local residents who were annoyed by it, but it now is accepted as one of the city’s symbols.
Read more on City of Chambéry, Chambéry Tourism and Wikipedia Chambéry. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
