Our trip to the kingdom of the French Alps

When we book flights for our family that are not to France,

We always try to ensure that the same region, in the same country, has a common border with France.

Because France is France after all. That explains everything, doesn't it?

The green is indeed very green, the sunflower fields are very yellow. The waterfalls – you can’t count them. Open spaces. Mountains and hills. Delicious…

Arriving in the French Alps

So with a pizza-flavored ease, we skipped the trip to northern Italy and headed to the French side, aka French Alps.

A trip that Google said “only took three hours” actually took about four and a half hours.

But no excessively long drive, or excessive toll roads, or even the endless tunnels on the way to the destination, can cool our enthusiasm to get “home.”

Last stop in Italy at a gas station. We thought we'd get one last Italian coffee before moving on to terrible French coffee. Well… How do you say the coffee was awful? Complimenting the view instead of the coffee? The view was amazing. And the gas was excellent. Human error…

Finally, we escaped to the French side. Wow, happiness.

The cows in the meadow are the same cows, the sun is the same sun, the excessive speed limits are exactly the same excessive limits.

But what a relief to reach it…

The fully equipped apartment hotel – Les chalets d'adelphine, Les gets

We booked an apartment at a lovely apartment hotel in town. the gets.

We drove through gorgeous landscapes. But what?!

We reached a deserted town on the way. And when we passed it, we reached another deserted town, and another, until we reached the long-awaited, correct deserted town – Les Gets.

This is probably the case for travelers at the end of September.

Even the local supermarket was closed.

We weren't pressured. What's wrong with taking over most of the town on your own?

Pierre, we were a little bummed that most of the attractions turned out to be closed.

But the view is equally indulgent.

The croissants from the town's patisserie, soft as intended,

And the heated pool with jacuzzi and mountain view, literally next door to our apartment, made the vacation perfect.

A kilometer from the town, we found a gorgeous lake, with crazy colors, and above all, a small playground with an Omega.

The girls were in the clouds.  

It's amazing how easy it is sometimes to make them happy. Remind me, who needs attractions?

The town of Les Lindarets – a lovely goat town

Okay, maybe a town is a bit of an exaggeration. It's a few cute shops, a pub and a restaurant and a half, where goats roam completely freely. They go into the shops, come to check out what the tourists have to offer, (Bamba. We became a hit in minutes).

It turned out after a conversation with the salesperson at that store that we emptied with pure pleasure, that there are currently two residents living in the town. At the height of the season, about 5-8 more residents join. And that's it.

It's a completely tourist attraction, but that's okay. The view is amazing and heart-warming. The atmosphere is great. The kids are happy and the coffee wasn't that bad. Everything else is a bonus.

the disappearing lake

A very inconvenient location for searching for the wonderful lake: continue from Les Gets towards the lovely town of Goats.

Give it a few good hours. You won't regret it.

Beyond the small amusement park and the stunning view, and the hiking trails, there is the option of renting a canoe and paddling there. Ducks are plentiful and, as is tradition, take a dip in the lake. They also get sick of Bamba.

Annecy

Well, please imagine turquoise.

A huge lake all turquoise. So the wonderful Annecy is this lake and what is around it. Great atmosphere! Young people of all ages enjoying the last rays of sunshine. A lovely market in the old town. A boat trip on the lake, spending time in one of the parks around the lake. Shopping enthusiasts will also find something to do in Annecy, in malls and shopping centers like France knows how to offer.

There's no more fun than that. No!

A “young at heart” woman, who was watching our family, turned to me and said, “Your daughters look so smart! Where are you from?!”

And of course I said with a smile - from Israel. She was so happy to hear that, she said she visited her and that she was wonderful!

Well, I told her that's true... despite all the problems, she's really great in many ways.

In short. Annecy - big yes.

Chamonix

Another town that is all about tourism, but rightly so.

She resides in the shadow of Mont Blanc. She can be whatever she wants.

In Chamonix there is a cute red train, called Montenvers, that climbs up and up. There you can take the cable car down to a beautiful blue ice cave with a view and also the small cave - Freysles.

But there's a catch. The cable car stops at a certain point, as if to say, this far, you've drifted. Want to continue? Enjoy it on foot.

So we got off the cable car and then, yes, we also climbed 585 steps.

We almost died and yet we survived to tell the story.

I'm one of those who say it was worth it. Still, thanks to those stairs, we were once and for all relieved of our conscience about the croissants that had become our staple food from the moment we entered France.

In addition, there are several cable cars in Shmoni that lead to various heights on the White Mountain.

We, with young girls, chose a medium-height option, but definitely impressive – Aiguille du midi.

80-something euros, and a ten-minute cable car ride later, we arrived at our station. The view, of course, is amazing. Arrogant windsurfers are plentiful (we'll be there soon, when we come to the Alps without the kids, phone number attached below), and hot chocolate for the girls. A little snow and a short playtime. Great. Not even that cold.

A perfect trip. It deserves much more time. Five days is a great taste, but I can definitely see ourselves continuing to enjoy it for ten days or more.

That's it. One day we'll go back there, closer to the season, and without "wasting" our time on other countries that are just a nice enough distraction 🙂

A few more tips to finish

The “Register, Register” corner:

• The fully equipped apartment hotel – Les chalets d'adelphine, Les gets. There is Ask for the number of beds to be equal to the number of people. Don't be tempted to let some of the people sleep on the couch. These people will be very upset with you, and rightly so. Also, bring toiletries and something to clean the dishes from home. The house is equipped to the brim, except for this strange stinginess.
• A very kind pair of tandem guides, if you want to commit suicide like we did straight from the beautiful White Mountain, Mont Blanc. Looks like a crazy hit. +33 6 08 23 92 65
• Decathlon+ Intersport- No need to explain. Right? There are plenty. Ask Wiz what's closest.

Were you impressed by the trip? Star Trek in the French Alps? At Francophiles Anonymous you can find many more tips worth knowing. Come visit the section France, and let's start traveling 🙂