My husband and I (60s) are going to travel to Europoe in August. We will be in London for a week (hubby on biz) and then will be flying to Geneva and traveling around Switzerland and flying out of Geneva.. Because Switzerland is so expensive, we want to find somewhere in France or Italy in the countryside to spend the last 3-5 days of our trip. We would like somewhere close to Switzerland. Somewhere scenic with a few interesting towns or sights in the area. We are aware that many Europeans take vacations in August and want to avoid the crowds (so maybe not the coast?) Any suggestions? Thanks.
Posted by
Longmont, CO, USA
527 posts
Go to the Austrian Alps. We went to Lech and loved the area. Mayerhofen is also very nice. Prices in Austria are much cheaper than Switzerland and the scenery is fantastic.
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4161 posts
The area in or around Chamonix - Mont Blanc perhaps ? quite lovely!!
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
501 posts
I second the Chamonix area, could also consider a visit to Annecy.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
Geneva, Switzerland is in the southwest portion of Switzerland, just north of Grenoble, France. You could stay in the Grenoble area, which is very beautiful. With a car, you could just ramble thru the countryside, and maybe go east to the foothill town of Torino, Italy. I was going to suggest going to Austria, but Geneva is quite a distance from there and Geneva is a little off the beaten path.
Posted by
OP
Corvallis, OR, USA
39 posts
Thanks for the suggestions. We will be traveling around in Switzerland so maybe could head to Austria earlier in the middle of the trip.
Posted by
OP
Corvallis, OR, USA
39 posts
I did some checking into Annecy on the web. It looks really beautiful and I like the lake aspect and the "Venice of France". Since we will be seeing a lot of mountain scenery in Switzerland, it seems like Annecy would be a more different experience than Chamonix (from the quick check of images I just did). Would be interested in comparison between Annecy & Chamonix from people who have been to both. And/or some specifics about why Chamonix might be better. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
501 posts
Janet, have been to both, hard to chose between the two. Where exactly will you be traveling to in Switzerland? To put things into perspective I/ we enjoyed Mount Blanc, especially cable car ride on Helbronner, much more then trip up to Jungfrau ( which, in my opinion is over-rated, just my opinion). You also have the Luge rides in Chamonix( cheesy, but we enjoyed). We missed getting to go to Mer-de Glacé, but plan to revisit this July as well as 2 to 3 hour stop-over in Annecy. You'll be there in August; the Lake near/at Annecy is beautiful, take rides on the Lake, ride a bike around the lake, walk the town, etc. Rick S. describes both in great detail. Other posters have left past remarks about Annecy, go to search box and look at past posts. If it were me I might suggest 1 night in Annecy, 2 in Chamonix, or use one as a base. There are a lot of interesting cities nearby.....Lyon....Grenoble.
Posted by
OP
Corvallis, OR, USA
39 posts
Thanks Jim. I'll keep exploring possibilities.