Dating in Chambéry, from the lake to Les Charmettes

At Les Charmettes, in Rousseau’s world

A short walk from the centre, the Charmettes house keeps the memory of the happy years Jean-Jacques Rousseau spent there with Madame de Warens. The vegetable garden, the box-scented terraces and the period furniture make the place a rare, romantic pause. People come to read on a bench, wander through aromatic herbs and whisper so as not to disturb the butterflies. A date of unexpected gentleness.

Lake Bourget, the largest lake in France

A few kilometres away, Lake Bourget stretches its turquoise waters for nearly eighteen kilometres. You can cycle around it, cruise from Aix-les-Bains, or take a ferry to Hautecombe Abbey, resting place of the princes of Savoy, set at the water’s edge. The beaches of Le Bourget-du-Lac lend themselves to picnics and summer swims. Lamartine wrote his lake elegy here: hard not to be inspired.

Views and gentle spa towns

The Dent du Chat towers over the lake from the west: an accessible hike leads to its summit for a breathtaking panorama. Aix-les-Bains, a Belle Époque spa town, invites you to relax in its parks. On Lyad, Chambéry members share their favourite trails and beaches; it is up to you to find someone to glide across the water with.