Albertville in the Alps

14 November 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Place Charles Albert © Tiia Monto/cc-by-sa-3.0

Place Charles Albert © Tiia Monto/cc-by-sa-3.0

Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Albertville is situated on the Arly River, close to the confluence with the Isère River. Nearby mountains include: Belle Etoile, Dent de Cons, Négresse, Roche Pourrie, Mirantin, Pointe de la Grande Journée, and Chaîne du Grand Arc. Nearby mountain ranges include: the Bauges; the Beaufortain; and the beginning of the Vanoise. Albertville is also the one of the two subprefectures of the Savoie department, with Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. In 2003, the town was labelled a “Town of art and history”.   read more…

Évian-les-Bains, meeting point of the Haute-Volée from around the world

9 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Source Cachat - The Evian-Water comes from this source © Ngdm

Source Cachat – The Evian-Water comes from this source © Ngdm

Évian-les-Bains or Évian is commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. An elite holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva (aka Lac Léman), for two centuries, it has hosted many Royals such as Kings Edward VII and George V of England and King Farouk of Egypt, and celebrities such as countess Anna de Noailles and Marcel Proust.   read more…

Val d’Isere in the French Alps

14 June 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© André Payan-Passeron/cc-by-sa-3.0

© André Payan-Passeron/cc-by-sa-3.0

Val d’Isère is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in southeastern France. It lies 5 km (3 mi) from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise National Park created in 1963. During the 1992 Winter Olympics, the Face de Bellevarde was the site of the men’s downhill race. Other alpine skiing events held during those games included men’s giant slalom and alpine combined. Val d’Isère regularly hosts World Cup alpine events, usually for the men in early December, and hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009. It is located in the Rhône-Alpes region with good transport links in and out of Lyon, Geneva and Chambéry.   read more…

Bourg-en-Bresse in eastern France

23 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© FRED/cc-by-sa-3.0

© FRED/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France with a population of 40,000, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse (Brêsse). It is located 70 km (43 mi) north-northeast of Lyon and at 50 kilometres (31 mi) of Lons-le-Saunier. The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens. The city is located at the western base of the Jura mountains, on the left bank of the Reyssouze, a tributary of the Saône.   read more…

Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the heart of the French Alps

26 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Les Arcs © Dmitry A. Mottl

Les Arcs © Dmitry A. Mottl

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.   read more…

Chambery in the Savoie Alps

8 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power. Chambéry was the Alpine Town of the Year in 2006.   read more…

Saint-Étienne, the capital of the Département Loire in the south of France

12 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Town Hall © Velvet

Town Hall © Velvet

Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, 60 km (37.28 mi) southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon. Saint-Étienne is the capital of the Loire département and has a population of approximately 178,500 in the city itself expanding to over 317,000 in the metropolitan area.   read more…

The valley of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

4 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Lake Blanc with the Mont-Blanc in the background © Mrvoyage

Lake Blanc with the Mont-Blanc in the background © Mrvoyage

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics. The commune’s population of around 9,800 ranks 865th within the country of France.   read more…

Grenoble, capital of the Alpes

30 September 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné © Milky

Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné © Milky

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, situated at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains has led to the city being known as the “Capital of the Alps.” Grenoble’s history encompasses a period of more than 2,000 years, and the city has been the capital of the Dauphiné since the 11th century. Grenoble experienced a period of economic expansion in the nineteenth and 20th centuries, which is symbolized by the holding of the X Olympic Winter Games in 1968. The city is now a significant scientific center in Europe. Grenoble hosts several festivals: the Grenoble Jazz Festival in March, the Open Air Short Film Festival in early July, and the Cabaret Frappé music festival at the end of July.   read more…

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