www.aixlesbains.fr. A decorous Victorian spa with a pedigree stretching back to the Romans, Aix lies on the eastern shore of the Lac du Bourget. Roman remains decorate place Maurice-Mollard, where the tourist office houses a small archaeological museum. Across the way, the Thermes Nationaux reveals its own Roman origins (guided tours).

If the steaming sulphur baths do not entice, there is the fabulous little Musée Faure, rue des Côtes, housing Impressionist art and sculpture from Bonnard, Degas, Pissarro, Rodin and others.

Lac du Bourget is France’s largest natural lake, and the water front offers promenades, boat and sailboard hire. as well as cruises and trips to the neo-Gothic Abbaye de Hautecombe on the opposite shore. The abbey is famous for its Gregorian sung mass (Sun), and the tombs of the Savoie princelings. It can also be reached via the D914, which runs above the western lakeshore through the woods with views back to the mountains.