Vacations by a lake in the Alps: five good reasons

Summer's approaching, and the question arises. Where to spend the few days off?

Spontaneously, we think of the sea, for the sun, the swimming, the life in freedom. But for some, it's the mountains, with their sporting activities, fresh air and landscapes. Finally, those with a passion for culture will visit cities rich in museums and curiosities. And what if a vacation on the shores of an Alpine lake made all this possible?

Enjoy the cool shores of an Alpine lake

Summer is hot, and unfortunately it's getting hotter all the time. So sometimes the beaches of the Mediterranean become stifling, and the beaches of the Atlantic don't offer much shelter from the sun. But what if it were different on a lake in the Alps?

Indeed, large bodies of water provide good ventilation, with breezes cooling the air on lake shores. A bit like sea breezes.

The lake water, whose temperature is generally between 20 and 25 degrees in summer in the main Alpine basins, sometimes a little higher during periods of high heat, contrasts with the warm air outside, causing these breezes to lick the faces and bodies of bathers and walkers.

Especially in the evening, when after a day in the sun, you feel the need for a drop in temperature. The proximity of the mountains accelerates this cooling effect, and it's not uncommon to need a little jacket to get home at the end of the evening. Which is great for a good, restful night's sleep, without mosquitoes or air-conditioning.

Evenings on the shores of Lake Geneva, a lake so large that it sometimes feels like the sea, near Montreux or Evian for example, are very pleasant in midsummer.

When you wake up in the morning, the dew deposited on the flowers and lawns keeps the air fresh for a while longer, before the summer heat takes over during the middle hours of the day. You can feel this morning freshness at the Réserve du Bout du Lac d'Annecy.

Thanks to this climatic regime and the humidity, the vegetation around the lakes is often very dense and green, allowing you to walk in the shade of the trees when the sun is too strong.

And above all, when the heat sets in, what could be better than diving in clean, cool waters?

Summer by a lake in the Alps means a few days in the sun without the inconvenience of the heat.

All water sports are possible on an Alpine lake

In summer, you want to swim.

Yes, it's the only time of year in Europe when you can enjoy a swim other than in a swimming pool. That's why beach holidays are the main destination for holidaymakers.

But what more can you do by the sea than on the shores of an Alpine lake? There's nothing!

A vacation on the shores of an Alpine lake offers the same seaside and water sports activities as a beach holiday.

The first of these, swimming, is practiced in calm waters. Beaches, whether sandy, gravelly or rocky, like the sea, slope gently down to deeper water, allowing safe bathing on supervised beaches.

The lagoon-like waters of Lake Annecy's beaches and the warmer waters of Lake d'Aiguebelette are so inviting you can't resist.

And what about the sandy beach at Excevenex, just outside Geneva?

No salt in your eyes! Swimming in the lake doesn't sting the eyes!

And when we go out to enjoy the sun on the beach, we don't have that unpleasant sensation caused by salt on the skin. You always feel clean!

Other water sports on an Alpine lake include canoeing, kayaking, pedal-boating, windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing, motorboating...

Kitesurfers love Lac de Serre-PonçonAchensee and Lake Garda. Gardebut also the high-altitude lake of Silvaplana in the Engadine.

In short, everything that makes a seaside holiday so enjoyable can also be enjoyed on a lakeside!

Diving? Yes, there are diving schools and activities, sometimes around caves, sometimes around wrecks. Of course, you won't find any colorful fish or coral here!

From Chillon on Lake Geneva to Beatenbuch on Lake Thun Thunthe spots are among the most popular with enthusiasts.

On the other hand, you can have fun diving from a boat in the middle of the lake without fear of fish terrorizing you... This last sentence is dedicated to all the moviegoers traumatized by a certain well-known film...

Seaside holidays on a lake in the Alps are possible and offer all the pleasures associated with a seaside vacation.

Holidays on the shores of an Alpine lake put everyone in agreement.

In a group of friends or a family, the most difficult thing is to find a compromise to please everyone during the vacations.

There are those who enjoy sporting activities: running, cycling, hiking, climbing...

There are those who love water sports: as we saw in the previous paragraph, anything is possible on a lake, just like by the sea.

There are those who prefer visits to cultural sites, exhibitions and museums.

There are those who go on vacation to let go and prefer to be pampered in wellness centers, spas, thermal baths, etc....

There are those who like to take beautiful photos, those who like to walk without getting tired, those who like to stroll through the markets or the shops in the narrow streets of small tourist villages...

On the shores of an Alpine lake, there's something for everyone.

The cities of Geneva, Lucerne, Zurich, Como and the villages of Stresa and Sirmione make it easy to combine a cultural visit with a seaside holiday.

And what about a cruise around the villas of Lake Como? Lake Como or the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore ?

Never far from a tourist center, never far from a major city rich in monuments and history, never far from hills to be explored on scenic hikes, a vacation on the shores of an Alpine lake offers a variety of pleasures over the course of a day or a week.

And for those who enjoy the wellness of mountains and water, numerous spas and thermal centers have sprung up along the shores.

Yes, but there are also those for whom summer vacations are synonymous with palm trees and tropical vegetation... Well, the pleasant surprise is that most of the shores of the great lakes have beautiful promenades lined with palm trees or tropical plants: the Lake Geneva Riviera, Lake Garda, and the promenades of Ascona and Locarno on Lake Maggiore are proof of this!

The beautiful scenery around the Alpine lakes.

Aesthetically, the Alpine lakes are all marvels.

The luminosity and colors of the landscape change according to the time of day, the shadows cast by the mountains and the color of the sky.

The blue tones of the Serre-Ponçon lakes, Sainte-Croix and Brienz lakes seem almost artificial, in stark contrast to the surrounding vegetation.

We can sit on a bench and contemplate all day the details that line the more or less distant Alpine lakes. Sometimes it's perched villages that catch our eye, or a church hidden in the greenery on the slopes of a mountain.

Sometimes our gaze is caught by a glacier glistening in the distance, or a boat glistening in the sun in the middle of the lake.

The ripples created by the lake breeze play with the sun's rays, making the lake's surface sparkle.

The evening humidity makes the landscape glow at sunset.

And all this can be observed just by sitting on a bench.

Or on a restaurant terrace with a tasting of local specialities caught in the lake, grown or raised on its shores or produced in the surrounding mountain pastures.

Just imagine what you can discover on a walk, a bike ride or a foray into the surrounding valleys and plateaus!

Dominant landscapes plunging towards the lake, mountain crowns, forests as far as the eye can see.

But it's impossible to list all the magnificent spots in this article.

It's all this beauty that makes a stay on a mountain lake so special.

Images you won't forget, because they're unique moments in unique places.

Our favorite landscapes are at the Chambotte lookout above Le Bourget, at the Col de la Forclaz on the Annecy side, at Beatenberg above Interlaken, at the Rigi above Lake Lake Lucernethe heights of Lugano and from each of the mountains surrounding the Salzkammergut lakes.

The lakes of the Alps are easily accessible local destinations

The good news when planning your Alpine lakeside vacation is that all lake destinations are within easy reach.

In today's climate of attention to the carbon footprint of every journey, the possibility of reaching your destination by train is certainly a positive point.

Whether on the shores of the French, Swiss, Italian, German, Slovenian or Austrian Alpine lakes, there are train stations in most of the villages on their shores, or in a nearby village well connected by a bus network.

Let's look at a few examples.

In France, you can reach your lakeside destination from the stations at Aix-les-Bains for Lac du Bourget, Annecy for its lake, Evian and Thonon for Lac Léman, and Lépin for Lac d'Aiguebelette. You can also take the train to Embrun and Chorges, just a few kilometers from Lac de Serre-Ponçon.

In Italy, Arona and Stresa on Lake Maggiore, Como, Lecco and Colico on Lake Como, Iseo and Pisogne for Lake IseoDesenzano and Peschiera on Lake Garda are accessible by rail.

In Switzerland, needless to say, trains run along all the lakeshores!

In Austria, the Salzkammergut region is criss-crossed by railroads, which radiate out from Bad Ischl. Lake Constance can be reached by train from Bregenz. The Ossiachersee near Villach is also accessible, as is the Worthersee near Klagenfurt,

In Germany, the entire northern shore of Lake Constance is accessible between Constance and Lindau, while the Ammersee, Starnbergsee, Tegernsee, Schliersee and Chiemsee rivers are accessible by rail directly from Munich, and the magnificent Königsee can be reached from Berchtesgaden, just a few kilometers away.

Finally, in Slovenia, we reach the very picturesque Lake Bled via the Bled Jezero railway station on the north shore, just a stone's throw from the village center.

A holiday that's easy to organize, destinations that are easy to reach, a climate that combines sunshine and mildness, breathtaking scenery, endless activities, and often a festive Riviera atmosphere, such as in Montreux or Ascona-Locarno, rich in events that immerse you in a vacation atmosphere.

More doubts?

If you have any, feel free to take inspiration from the AlpAddict guides, or get advice from your Travel Planner, read the other articles on Alpine lakes in this blog and admire the stunning photos in the Instagram account Story.

See you soon, lakeside!