All year, the Alps is one of the most spectacular areas of France. The majestic mountains, starting from the Geneva Lake and stretching to the Mediterranean in the South Eastern France, includes some of Europe’s highest mountaintops with Mont Blanc (4807m) as the highest point. This is the largest mountain area in Europe and is among the most popular holiday sites of the world all year by reason of its large skiing resort, wonderful trekking and a multitude of outdoor activities.

The landscape of the Alps

The beautiful landscape varies from snowy mountain tops and deep ravines with foaming rivers to lush pastures and flowery plains. In the spring and early summer, the steep grass meadows of the French Alps are an orgy of blue and yellow gentians, harebells, lilies and different kinds of orchids. In the wintertime, the landscape is dressed in white and often in sharp contrast to the clear, dark-blue sky.

Large cities in the Alps: Grenoble, Briançon and Annecy

Grenoble is an old Gallic-Roman city and offers many historic construction works. The city is located beautifully where Rivers Drac and Isère join surrounded by the beautiful natural reserves, Chartreuse and Vercors. The best view of the city and the mountains, you will achieve by taking the cableway to the fortress Fort de la Bastille. The popular life is seen around Place Grenette in the many sideway cafes.

Briançon is located 1,320 meter above the sea and is thereby the highest located city of Europe. The city has been an important fortress from before the Romans and therefore offers interesting history and buildings. Today, Briançon is a sports town in the summer as well as in the winter.

Annecy is a charming town in the Alps, which is located by the Northern edge of Lake Lac d’Annecy, surrounded by snowy mountain tops. The small, cosy medieval quarter is surrounded by canals, bridges and streets with flowers. The greatest attraction is to be walking around in the town and breathing the fresh mountain air and sensing the atmosphere of the town, especially on market day. In the summer, you can swim in the lake and do different kinds of yachting activities on the lake.

Tourist attractions in the Alps

The greatest tourist attractions of a holiday in the Alps are the wide range of outdoor activities in the summer as well as in the winter. Furthermore, two of France’s most spectacular natural reserves Chartreuse and Vercors are located in the area and offer a wilderness of pine forest, mountains, caves and deep, narrow ravines and a nature experience.

Sports activities in the Alps

In the winter, cross-country and alpine skiing are the preferred sports. Many pistes connect two or more skiing resorts and make the skiing resorts gigantic.
When the snow has gone, the flowery grass meadows, the mountain lakes and the many marked trekking routes make it a paradise for trekkers. Many places, the holiday resorts offer summer sports activities, such as golf, tennis, cycling in the mountains, horseback riding, paragliding, canoeing, white water rafting, glacier-skiing and mountain climbing.

Gastronomic characteristics of the Alps

The regional food of the Alps consists of cheese fondue, raclette, alp cheese such as Tomme au Raisin, Emmenthal Français and Vacherin with the local wine to go with it.

The climate in the Alps

The Alps offer low humidity, clean air and many hours of sunshine. The summers are usually dry with high temperatures and from November/December and all the way to the end of April, the snow lies as a duvet on the Alps.

Some of the photos are kindly lent out from Maison de la Frace. Photographers: Hervé Le Gac og Jean-François Tripelon.