MaineGG

In mid-September, we will pick up a car in Lyon in the morning and drive to Annecy via Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains. Looking for suggestions for a couple of hours sightseeing in Chambéry. Aix-les-Bains will probably get a quick look-see before continuing to Annecy.

We will overnight at the Hôtel du Nord in Annecy. Any recommendations for dinner somewhere in the old town that is casual, features local specialties, and won't break the budget (€15-20 per person)?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Since you're not spending significant amounts of time in any of these towns you'll probably just enjoy strolling through them and enjoying the ambiance. Make sure to head for the "old town" sections of these places. I'm just back from 2 weeks spent at the Lac d'Annecy and I can say for sure that Annecy is lovely but I didn't visit the other two places. From what I saw and what I've heard others say I would reserve the most amount of your time for exploring Annecy.

I might even suggest as an alternative that you do a scenic drive through the area. Coming out of Aix pick up the route D911 at Grésy-sur-Aix. After about 18-20km take the route D912 (on your left) towards Sevrier and when you arrive there follow the road along the lake to Annecy.

If you have time, when you are on the D912 and reach the village of Col de Leschaux take a left on the D110 and go up the mountain to the Semnoz Plateau. The views from the top are spectacular, with Mont Blanc and other snow covered alpine peaks in the background and beautiful green pastured valleys, tree covered slopes and craggy mountain peaks in the foreground. You'll also see the Lac d'Annecy and Lac du Bourget.

Here are links to the tourist office websites for each of these towns where you can learn about what there is to see and do and where you can eat:

http://www.chambery-tourisme.com/

http://www.aixlesbains.com/en/home-aix-les-bains.html

http://www.lac-annecy.com/

You can stop at the tourist offices for each of these places to get maps of the town, as long as you arrive in town during their open hours. You might also want to get a Michelin map for this region(go to their website). Get the ones of the scale 1:150,000 or 1:200,000. You'll notice that scenic roads are designated green on the maps, if you feel like doing any other scenic drives.

Michel_Paris

I took the train from Lyon to Chambery and it was a fantastic ride, by the Alps, going through narrow passes, old buildings, 10' from people's back yards...

FrenchMystiqueTours

I'll also add that when you are on the top of the Semnoz Plateau that the plateau itself is gorgeous. Wide open green pastures, beautiful wildflowers and cows everywhere with the sound of their clanging bells filing the air. There is a walking trail up there that takes about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to do depending on your pace and which trails you want to take. Just park at the restaurant and take the trail from there. You can follow the trail to one of the local farmers cheese shops and sample some cheese. This was one of my favorite walks in that region.

MaineGG

Oh, FrenchMystiqueTours, this is just the kind of information I was hoping for. We had originally planned to head directly to Beaune from Lyon, but decided to take a day to make this loop to the east for an all too quick look at that region. We probably would not have found your suggested scenic route from Aix to Annecy including the Semnoz Plateau, and it sounds like just the type of wandering we enjoy. Now praying for a gorgeous day.

Michel_Paris - Hope our drive to Chambéry will be as scenic as your train ride was. We probably won't spend a great deal of time there, but would like to walk around some and pick up something for a picnic lunch.

MaineGG

Does anyone have a restaurant recommendation for Annecy?
Looking for casual, regional specialties and moderate price.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Glad you found the info useful. Let me see if I can give you a few more tips. If you don't have time to get the Michelin maps before your trip you can get them here quite easily. Bookstores, hypermarkets and magazine/news stores (called Presse) will carry them and if you want to do it last minute you can always get them from any of the full service rest areas on the autoroute. They always have the Michelin maps for their region so on your drive from Lyon to Annecy you can get one for Haute-Savoie and on your drive towards Beaune you can get one for Burgundy.

If you have good weather on the day you travel it would really be a great idea to take advantage of the outdoors in this region, as that is its biggest asset. If that interests you I would head directly to do the drive I outlined up to The Semnoz Plateau. After this I would spend the rest of the day exploring the villages and countryside at the edge of Lac d'Annecy. The tourist season should still be going on in mid-September and just about every town that borders the lake has places that rent paddle boats and kayaks. The best villages to visit (besides Annecy) are Talloires and Menthon-Saint-Bernard. Talloires was my favorite. Lovely little towns to stroll through with nice cafés, restos etc. From Talloires you can drive up the scenic road D42 to the Col de Forclaz and enjoy the views and watch the paragliders take off.

Another nice drive would be on the D12 from Faverges to Thônes, and make a detour onto the D16 just outside Thônes to see the scenic Vallée de Manigod. Thônes is a lovely little town.Of course you should save a few hours to explore Annecy but even a night time stroll through town will be as enjoyable as a day time visit.

You might also stop into the tourist office in any town you visit and see what brochures and other (free) info they might have to give you further ideas.

So there you have it. Plan your day as you see fit since it's your vacation but I thought I'd just throw out a few alternatives you may not have been aware of. Good luck!