| The village of Samoëns lies on the flat plain of the Giffre valley; its nine, tiny, satellite hamlets nestle
on the surrounding wooded slopes.
The whole retains a traditional Alpine atmosphere, with lots of old, stone buildings, wooden chalets and farms,
sheep, goats and cattle grazing in lush green pastures; and, from Springtime onwards, flowers, flowers, flowers.
At the heart of Samoëns is the Place du Gros-Tilleul, so-named for its superb lime-tree, dating back to 1438. The beautiful
sixteenth-century church dominates one side of the square, overlooking the covered corn market and a pretty fountain decorated with bronze
sculptures.
a heady place! 
Once a week the streets and alleys of the village bustle with market stalls, offering everything from cheap French kitchen gadgets to
beautiful, hand-embroidered cloth. Samoëns is a gourmet's paradise of local specialities: patisseries, honey, salami, smoked hams, cheese,
wine, cheese, wine, cheese, wine, wine; and in the summer months, summer fruits perfume the air.
 The Giffre valley comes
to a dramatic end six miles away with an awe-inspiring horseshoe of glacial rock, which reaches 1,500 m up and lets down a curtain of water
whose intensity in the Spring or after rainfall can literally take the breath away. The area surrounding these rocks of Sixt Fer-a-Cheval
is a nature reserve and a haven for birds, plants and wild animals.
Follow the Giffre downstream and you will discover village after pretty village, but eventually all rivers lead to the Rhone and thence
to Lake Geneva with its magnificent parks and promenades, boat trips and the impressive buildings of the old city - world-famous clock and
jewellery-making centre, and home to the finest Swiss chocolate. The elegant spa town of Evian is less than half-an-hour from Geneva: water,
water everywhere - in bottles, spring and lake! Another lake worth a visit is Lake Annecy, at the head of which is the unforgettable town
of Annecy itself. Its winding lanes and beautiful, medieval houses are built along and around a maze of canals; Annecy is the cultural centre
of Haute Savoie, teeming with shops, restaurants, museums, art galleries and chateaux.
Neighbouring valleys offer a range of more or less hidden treasures: the monastery at Abondance, the Fier gorges, the salt mines in Bex,
Les Gets' museum of mechanical musical instruments - to name but a few.
Above it all, however, there is Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain at 4,807 m. Climb it if you must; otherwise take the télécabine,
the tram or the train; marvel at the view, take a trip to, if not down, the glacier, visit the Sea of Ice. You'll find it hard to come back
down to earth.
 Getting there
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