9 Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Grandes Jorasses are a group of granite peaks located on the northern side of the Mont Blanc range, on the border between Italy and France. Although all its faces are amazing, its 1.200-meter north wall is the biggest challenge for climbers. The climb to the highest peak of the Grandes Jorasses is a technically demanding route, over ice and rocks.

The Argentière glacier is located in the Mont Blanc massif. It overlooks the village of Argentière. This glacier covers an area of 19 km² and an altitude range from 1600 m to 3600 m on a North aspect. Satellite images from various years give a birds’ eye view of the great river of ice retreating further into the mountains.

The Gorges du Fier are a remarkable natural curiosity of France, in Haute-Savoie: a very narrow and deep gorge that can be visited thanks to a footbridge fixed to the side of the rock, built-in 1869 by the Annecy architect Marius Vallin and Listed since 1943. This gorge was cut by the powerful Fier torrent in the town of Lovagny, some eleven kilometers west of Annecy.

Located in the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve, one of the most beautiful mountain lakes, famous for its unique panorama facing the Mont-Blanc massif. Lac Blanc sits next to a welcoming refuge, and while hiking you will likely see Ibex and marmots in the surrounding nature reserve. One of the best picnic location and you can do so many activities in and around this place.

Lake Aiguebelette is the main body of water in the Savoyard Foreland. About ten kilometers from Chambéry, it has an area of ​​545 hectares making it the seventh-largest natural lake in France. the site has several beaches developed and it is a well-known tourist attraction in this area. Motorboats are not allowed on the lake to preserve the silence and wildlife along the lake.

Lac du Bourget, also locally known as Lac Gris or Lac d'Aix, is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and either the largest or second-largest after Lac de Grand-Lieu depending on the season. The lake is meromictic, meaning that it has layers that do not mix.

The pristine Lac d’Annecy, one of the largest lakes in France, sits among snow-capped mountains and is known as the cleanest lake in Europe. Lake Annecy has options like paddleboarding, scuba diving, and catamaran and yacht rentals with the Annecy Sailing Regatta Society. When visiting in summer, there are plenty of sandy or grassy beaches dotted along the picturesque lake, and also you can have a swim in this crystal clear water.

Lake Mont Cenis, in the Savoie, on the plateau of the same name, was built on the road between Lyon and Turin, and on a site that for a long time was a point of passage between France and Italy. the lake was created in the 1960s following the construction of a hydroelectric dam. bathing is prohibited here but you can have a beautiful but demanding hike, which also includes its banks.

The Route des Grandes Alpes is a tourist itinerary through the French Alps between Lake Geneva and the French Riviera passing over all the high passes of the Alps within France. The lowest pass in altitude on the route of the Route des Grandes-Alpes is the Èze pass with an altitude of 507 meters the highest being the Iseran at 2,770 m.