Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva (known to the locals as Lac Leman), is the largest freshwater lake in Western Europe. The Rhone river dumps into the lake at one end just between the mountains of the Valais entering at Villeneuve. So much debris from the river is flushed into the lake daily that you will see many unusal shaped ships transporting rocks out of the river entrance.

The section of Vevey and Montreux on the Lake of Geneva is by far my favorite area. Maybe I am biased because I happened to live there for a period of two years. From one side, you have the view as far as the Dents Du Midi and over towards Bouveret which is famous for the swiss vapeur parc along with the Aquaparc. Both can get quite crowded in the summer. I'd recommend the area of the Aquaparc where swimming is near by and goes out onto the lake.

St. Gingolph is close by as well. This area lacks crowds and is a beautiful change quite unlike the areas of Montreux and Vevey. On the Swiss side you will find a few pleasant cafe and restaurants while on the French side, a great little beach. This area however, is not connected by the train. Use the boat to get to this area...