Swimming: five spots you can reach by bike

The greenway that runs along the western shore changes the geography of the lake completely. Forty-two kilometres, almost flat, no cars, laid on the bed of the old railway line: what looks like a full expedition by car on a Saturday in August becomes a half-hour ride. Here are five places to get into the water, from the closest to the furthest.

Plage d’Albigny — 12 minutes

The regulars’ beach, at the north-east end on the Annecy-le-Vieux side. A wide lawn shaded by trees as old as the town, a gentle slope into the water, and la Tournette — the mountain directly across the lake — in front of you. Free, with lifeguards in season.

It fills up after 14:00, almost never before. If you are coming with small children this is the best compromise in the area: shallow water for several metres out, and real shade — something you only measure lying on a lawn at 32 °C.

The Sévrier beaches — 20 minutes

The first village on the western shore, with several ways down to the water strung along the greenway. Less lawn than Albigny, more pebbles, but the water turns noticeably clearer as soon as you leave the northern basin.

The advantage is that you can stop more or less wherever you like. Plenty of the discreet access points are signposted by nothing at all, slipped between two properties. You find them by riding slowly.

Saint-Jorioz — 25 minutes

A large family beach with the services that go with it: a snack bar, toilets, lifeguards in summer. It is the obvious choice if you are out for the whole day and do not want to set off again in search of a drink.

The trade-off is that it is one of the busiest points on the western shore in August. Arrive before 11:00 or after 17:00.

Duingt — 35 minutes

Where the lake narrows and the two basins meet. The small château on its peninsula is the view everyone photographs and nobody can find parking for. On a bike the question does not arise.

Do not come looking for a proper beach: here you get in off flat rocks below the greenway. Pick up a picnic at the village bakery. This is the best place on the lake late in the day, when the light drops behind the western ridges and sets the far shore alight.

Baie de Doussard — 1 hour 15

The far end of the lake, where the Eau Morte river flows in. Reed beds, a nature reserve, and the warmest water in the lake in August because the bay is shallow. It is also the landing zone for the paragliders coming down from the Col de la Forclaz, the pass they launch from above the lake: they land one after another all afternoon, and watching costs nothing.

An hour and a quarter on a bike is a commitment. The local solution is to ride out and come back by boat — the lake’s boat company takes bikes on some crossings, worth checking by season.

Three things to bring

• Water shoes. A good share of the access points are over pebbles, and parts of the lake bed are covered in slippery weed by late summer.
• A decent lock. Bikes left along the greenway in summer disappear.
• A water bottle. Drinking water points are rarer than you would expect south of Saint-Jorioz.

A word on temperature: the lake stays cold until the end of June, warms up through July and peaks in August — in the Baie de Doussard before anywhere else. Before mid-June, swimming is a matter of nerve rather than pleasure.