We stayed in Annecy in June last year as part of our trip through France and Italy. We stayed at the Hotel du Chateau. As mentioned it is at the top of a hill. It was quite pleasant and the owners were nice.

We drove to the Chateau de Montrottier which was very interesting. It used to be owned by a man who collected things from all over the world (without actually leaving France). They have guided tours (you cannot just wander around). The tours are in French but they give you a folder with an English translation. We found it very interesting.

There have also been some questions and comments about the Italian lakes. We stayed at Lake Orta at the Hotel Orta (http://www.orta.net/hotelorta/) and would highly recommend both the town and the Hotel. It is overlooking the lake and San Guilio Isle which has a church on it. Just note with the Hotel that, although you can drive to it to drop your bags off (and pick them up), you have to park at the top of the town which involves a bit of a hike up a hill.

>From Lake Orta we drove across the Simplon Pass into Switzerland and to Brig which took about 3 hours. I enjoyed the drive but my wife (who was passenger) was petrified the whole time. (We then stayed the night in Brig and drove to Chamonix the next day - again about a 3 hour drive).

It sounds like you may be going in similar areas to those that we went to, if you would like any more information, please ask.

Peter Quiggin Canberra Australia