K and I have had a week in four star luxury staying at the Hilton in Evian-les-Bains (where the water comes from) in the French alps. We drove down to Luton on Friday night and stayed overnight there (curry, obviously). We were able to leave our car at the hotel for the week and get a cab to the airport - which is only 10 minutes from the middle of Luton so very convenient. We flew to Geneva where we picked up our rental car (was hoping for a Twingo but got a Yaris) and drove the couple of hours to Evian.
It's a traditional spa town although the current Evian bottling plant has moved to Thonon (about 5 miles away). It's been very grand in it's day and still boasts several large hotels and a casino. Evian is on the southern shore of Lake Geneva (or Lac Leman as the French call it) and the alps form the backdrop to the town. All-in-all there is some spectacular scenery.
October is in-between the main summer season and the winter ski season so everything was fairly quiet (which makes getting a table for dinner very easy) - we're easily pleased though and just enjoy mooching about having a look at different places. Give us a bar and pack of cards and we're happy!We had one day in Annecy which is an beautiful town that Keren knew from her time as a student in France. Another couple of days walking and driving in the mountains around Thollon and Larringes. A boat trip to Lausanne on the Swiss side of the lake where we visited the Olympic museum and the cathedral; and a day in Yvoire which is medieval village to the west of Evian.
It's a beautiful part of the world and a very relaxing place to spend some time.
