Here we are, swinging into August already after one of the hottest summers on record. The beaches around the lake are full of sun worshippers and yes, you can swim in Lake Geneva.
There are enough pedalos on the water to form a navy. The flower beds are wilting and the grass is scorched.
Climb into the mountains and the air is cooler, the grass greener and the water, bottled this time, more refreshing.
Here are a few things catching my eye around Lake Geneva for August…
On my radar…
Swiss National Day
One of the highlights of the summer calendar is Swiss National Day on August 1st. Towns across Switzerland celebrate the founding of the Swiss Confederacy with fireworks, concerts, traditional festivities and colourful Swiss flags.
There are fireworks all along the Swiss side of the lake. Those in Lausanne, Montreux and Vevey are particularly spectacular.
You’ll also find traditional alphorns, food markets and yes…even yodelling.
Around the lake…
Scènes Estivales – Free Lakeside Concerts in Evian
Every Friday evening in August, Evian’s waterfront comes alive with free open-air concerts on the Esplanade du Port.
Enjoy performances by well-known French artists against the backdrop of Lake Geneva.
- 7 August – Anne Sila & Yvan Cassar (with Michaël CYM opening the evening)
- 14 August – Lynda Lemay & guitarist Jean-Félix Lalanne
- 21 August – Victoria Sio (with Solène Hardy opening)
Summer wine tasting in Lavaux
August is a great time to discover the wines of Lavaux. Enjoy tastings overlooking the lake at venues such as Lavaux Vinorama in Rivaz or visit family-run estates including Domaine Gaillard in Epesses
Liberation Day celebrations – Thonon & Evian
Mid-August also brings Liberation Day celebrations to Evian on 15 August and Thonon on 16 August.
There’ll be ceremonies, live music and more spectacular fireworks over the lake. This time it’s to celebrate the French Resistance and Allied Forces who liberated both towns at the end of WW2.
Sporting August…
Tour de France Femmes
If you enjoyed the men’s Tour de France last week, here’s another chance to experience the razzmatazz and see elite sport, this time the women, for free.
The Tour de France Femmes begins on the shores of Lake Geneva this year, with its opening 137-kilometre first stage starting and finishing in Lausanne on 1 August.
The riders will loop through the Vaud countryside before returning beside the lake and through the Lauvaux vineyards, bringing all the excitement of the Grand Départ to the Swiss Riviera.
Head to Lausanne if you don’t want to miss the party.
On the menu…
After what seems like decades of self-catering holidays when the kids were young, I’ve decided it’s now time to discover what proper food tastes like.
Here’s this month’s top discovery:
Aux Ducs de Savoie – St Gingolph (booking essential – see link)
This little family run restaurant has a reputation as long as your arm. I’m only sorry it’s taken me so long to discover it.
Set back from the lake, well away from the busy French/Swiss frontier crossing in St Gingolph, it’s an oasis of calm.
The terrace is shaded by large red parasols and bordered with red geraniums spilling from the planters.
This is traditional French cooking, served in a traditional French way, where the women’s menus have no prices… not because it’s expensive, it’s not…. but because, traditionally, that’s ‘comme il faut’… that’s how it should be.
Loved it! Food was great, service was great and the ambiance, on a hot summer’s day, was perfect… but maybe that was just the company 😊
Life Around the Lake in August
Perseid meteor shower
If the skies stay clear the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak around 12-13 August. Away from the town lights, the lakeshore and mountain villages can be great places to watch shooting stars.
Alpine Life
August is when the mountain restaurants are busy. But it’s well worth the climb or the gondola ride to experience life above the lake in summer.
Wild horses roam the meadows of the alpage above Thollon, sheep graze the alpine grass accompanied by their guardian dogs and red kites cruise the thermals overhead.
Meanwhile, adrenaline fuelled paragliders carry large back packs up the mountainside and launch themselves into the air beneath multi-coloured parachutes. They head out across the treetops towards the lake, searching for those same thermals as the red kites.
And did I mention that cool, refreshing mountain air, just what you need in a heatwave.
Did you know?…
Here’s my favourite story from my visit to the Sarah Bernhardt exhibition currently at the Palais Lumière in Evian.
Sarah Bernhardt was France’s most famous actress and was a wildly eccentric woman. She kept a menagerie of exotic animals in her home… with her pet alligator reputedly sleeping under her piano.
The alligator died from an overdose of champagne so she had another shipped across the Atlantic to replace it. During the voyage it was sedated with morphine.
When the alligator woke up in her sitting room, it promptly ate her favourite fox terrier, to the horror of everyone present.
Legend has it that Sarah leapt to her feet, took a pistol from a drawer, and shot it. Cue much fainting and passing of the smelling salts.
If you’re in the area the exhibition is well worth a visit. I’d recommend doing the guided tour for all the juicy stories.
Fresh from the Balcony
This month I’ve gathered together my favourite towns, villages, beaches, walks and places to visit in an article called Your Guide to Exploring Lake Geneva.
It could never include everything — the lake would require several volumes — but it’s a useful place to begin planning your own journey around its French and Swiss shores.
