Camping Le Colombier

Hiking, biking, lakeside strolls, rock climbing and canyoning are all easy to get to from Camping Le Colombier's Rhône-Alpes's setting among mountains, lakes and waterfalls – and a vineyard or two too, as it's Bugey setting is home to the whites of the Bugey AOC. Two famed lakes are in the region: the arty waters of Lake Bourget closest to the site, a fave place of many a French writer; and Lake Annecy a bit further away, for swimming, watersports and pottering around Rhône-Alpes towns like Saint-Jorioz and Menthon-Saint-Bernard. Closer to home, the wetland reserve of the Lavours Marshes is at the base of the Grand Colombier mountain for birdwatching and nature rambles. Also have an afternoon around Hautecombe Abbey, the Cistercian and later Benedictine monastery on Lake Bouget's northwestern shore: it's a famed sight in these parts and for centuries was the burial place of the illustrious members of the royal House of Savoy.