-"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.
With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.
[ Bell tolls ] -Custom, privately guided travel.
Kensington.
See the world differently.
-I'm Kathy McCabe.
In this series, we'll explore the stunning landscapes, unearth the centuries of history, and discover what makes Europe one of the most captivating continents on Earth.
Join me as we Dream of Europe.
In the old Haute Savoie region of France lies a stunning turquoise jewel that is little known outside of Europe -- Lac d'Annecy.
9 miles long and 2 miles wide, this lake is Europe's cleanest, fed by one underground and six mountain springs that trickle down from the snowcapped peaks of the Rhne Alps.
Its crown jewel is the adorable city of Annecy, nicknamed the "Venice of the Alps," with an old town center, Vieille Ville, that is like something out of a storybook.
Annecy's canals are crisscrossed by bridges, the most famous of which is the Pont des Amours, or Bridge of Love.
Legend has it that if two lovers kiss on the bridge, their love will never die.
Pont des Amours connects the lush Jardins de l'Europe, a park that was created in the Middle Ages as a buffer zone during the Plague.
But today its 600 trees provide shade for walking paths and picnic spots.
Annecy is a Mecca for cyclists, hikers, water sports enthusiasts, and paragliders.
-We have the mountains and we have the lake, so all across the year, you can really enjoy a lot of different activities.
-Aude Thierrin is a local tour guide who moved here from Paris for Annecy's quality of life.
Annecy is a very active city.
Tell me about everything you can do here.
-You can paragliding, you can scuba diving, you can sail, you can swim.
And in the winter season, you can ski with your kids.
It's just very perfect.
-Palais de l'Ile, which sits on an island between two canals, is Annecy's most photographed site.
[ Camera shutter clicking ] -I think this building became an iconic symbol of the city because it was used to control the passage on the river.
It was easier in the Middle Ages to transport merchandises on the river than in the street or in the woods.
When the lord of the island died, he gave the island to the countess, right, of the castle.
Then she decided to build a chapel.
So this palace actually has never been a residence.
-So the shape of the building looks like a ship's bow.
Why?
-The water across the centuries actually gave the shape to the island, because the water comes upstream and then it's -- it's eroding the stone.
So that's why we get the impression it's a boat sailing upstream.
-So this building has been so many things over the years.
Tell me a little bit about what people have done here.
-During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries, they turned the whole building into a jail.
And all the official documents and archives of the city were also housed in this building.
We have a room with the hooks and people think usually that is where we had the torture, but not at all.
It's just the place of the archives.
It was also a place for a dog contest, for a gymnastic contest, as well.
It housed old people, homeless old peoples.
It also housed people who had drank too much.
I think the Palais de l'Ile is a place very important because it's where the people can go if they want to know more about the history of Annecy.
This building is really still the heart of the city.
It belongs to everybody, to everyone.
-One can always hear the lovely melody of bells ringing out all around this area of France.
[ Bell ringing ] From church bells to cowbells, the sound is synonymous with life in this mountain region, so it is no wonder that the premier bell makers in the world are based on Lake Annecy.
The Paccard family has been making bells for eight generations.
Let's start at the beginning of how this bell factory came to life eight generations ago.
What year was it?
-It started in 1796.
During the French Revolution, it was not allowed anymore to make bells for churches.
-You needed the bells to make weapons?
-Yes.
They took all the bells from the church tower to make cannons.
Antoine Paccard, who was a young man -- He was 24 years old.
He met with the traveling bell founder.
He discovered the making process, and for him, it was so wonderful that he decided to become a bell founder himself.
-What is unique about Paccard bells?
-I think if we have to say one thing about the, uh, specificity of Paccard bells, it's the sound, the music of the bells.
[ Bells ringing ] People, when they come out from our concert hall where we perform some demonstration of the Paccard sound, they cry.
Really.
-They can feel it.
-Yeah.
-There's... -I cry sometimes.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
And, tell me -- You have many unique, uh, accomplishments with these bells.
-We've cast many famous bells and quite a big amount of them in United States.
For example, the bells for St. Patrick's in New York.
That's a very beautiful example.
And in 1950, the U.S. government decided to cast a replica of the Liberty Bell, one for each capital state, and the Paccard Bell Foundry made these bells.
And very recently, we cast the largest musical sculpture made of bells in the world.
It's 63 bells, 33 meters high... -Wow.
-...for the University of Tampa.
-Wow.
-And it's absolutely gorgeous.
-So if you were walking down the street and you heard some church bells, would you know if it was Paccard?
-Yes, I do.
-[ Laughs ] [ Bell ringing ] -Cloches Paccard bells can even be found on the lake's most famous boat... -[ Bell rings ] ...L'Esprance.
-Welcome aboard.
-Thank you so much.
Merci beaucoup.
What a beautiful boat you have.
-You are in Esprance III.
-I love it.
Originally used for transporting goods across the lake in the 19th century, this 54-foot vessel is now in its third incarnation.
The schooner is manned solely by volunteers... -[ Speaking French ] -...dedicated to preserving the boat's history by educating people they take on sightseeing trips.
Tell me about this incredible boat.
-We rebuilt this boat a few years ago, Esprance number 2, as Esprance number 3.
-The Esprance, why was it important for Annecy?
-Because that was the only way to carry things and material from one part of the lake to the other side -- stone, wood, wine.
All these sites were vineyards... -Oh.
-...before they built houses.
All the things that has been done to build the old town of Annecy.
-So how was this incredible lake formed?
-20 million years before... -Just a little while.
-A little while.
...we had the glacier of the Mont Blanc.
The ice melt.
-Melts.
It made the Annecy lake.
And that's how it has been like this.
-And the water today -- Where does it come from?
-Mostly from melting of the snow in the winter.
-Mm-hmm.
It is the most gorgeous color, this water.
-Yeah.
-Why -- It looks almost like the Caribbean.
-Okay.
-Why?
Why is it so gorgeous?
-The color you have is because you have plankton, uh, little, little fishes.
-Uh-huh.
-Okay?
-They clean it?
-Yeah.
And the way the sun... -The sun.
Yeah.
Comes on the water, makes the water green or turquoise or black, different.
Different from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.
The colors change all the time.
-Are you from Annecy?
-Yeah, for 40 years now.
-But originally?
-Originally from Paris.
-And what brought you here?
-Because you can run, you can walk, you can climb, you can paraglide.
-Do you paraglide?
-Yeah.
Yeah.
-You're one of those?
-Yeah.
-Up there?
-Yeah.
For sure.
-Not scary?
-No.
Like a bird.
-Really?
-It's one of the most fantastic spots, paragliding, of the world, because as soon as you take off, then you're on top of the -- of the lake and you see the lake just under you.
-What do you love the most about being on this boat?
-Being outside.
Sometimes we do have time to look around.
-I know.
-Yeah.
-Look at this place!
Just look at -- Just look.
Look.
-At all this.
Yeah, absolutely.
-I think this is one of those beautiful places on Earth.
-Not a bad place to live.
-Stphane, merci beaucoup.
-It's been a great pleasure.
And the conditions were really good.
-Oh, it's so beautiful.
-Thanks.
-Thank you.
-Yeah!
-L'Esprance docks in Talloires, 30 minutes across the lake, and the town where I studied abroad in college.
Tufts University offers a magical summer semester to undergrad students, who can learn the French language and culture and even Ice Age anthropology like I did.
-Look at these!
-This one looks good.
Not too dry.
Really flourish.
Let's take this one.
-Okay.
-Talloires is also home to SNO Eternelle -- an unusual French face cream that is painstakingly created using the area's mountain flowers.
The company's founder, Raphaelle Sjostrom, is a former professional skier and World Cup champion.
So you live not too far from here.
-Such a nice walk I can do really often.
-You're so lucky, you and the flowers, to live in one of the most beautiful places.
-Yeah.
I'm so blessed.
I'm so happy.
-Tell me how you started this company, SNO Eternalle.
-I'm born in Annecy.
I went to college here, as well, till 17.
Then I started to compete skiing.
So then I started to travel all around the world for the World Cup circuit of skiing.
When I was competing, my skin got really intolerant.
I could not use any normal skin care.
So I did my own skin care in my kitchen.
And then I started to do some formation with a lab in Paris.
And after 10 years, I had, like, 600 different formulas that I saved.
-Now, what makes your skin creams different than the other ones?
-With my company, it's really my vision to propose 100% natural ingredients.
No synthetic ingredients, no perfumes, no conservatives.
So it puts the skin in a detox way.
-And tell me about the flowers that you use.
-So I really chose to use the mountain flowers that were around here.
They have so much more antioxidants, the plants from the valley, because they develop this resistance against the storm, the cold, the wind.
So that makes those plants really efficient because they are really rich in Omega-3, 6, 8, and 9.
So it's the perfect mix.
So I really love my work because my focus is on womens and try to help them the best as I can to understand their skin.
-I'm fascinated, as well.
How are skin and emotions tied together?
-For me, the heart of my business is to go deeper than the skin itself.
It's -- Psychoanalysts and dermatologists agree that 80% of eczema, herpes, psoriasis can come from anxiety and stress.
So I'm starting SNO Angels that are volunteers to help womens to talk about their problems and to solve their real problems of skin.
-That's fantastic.
Congratulations.
-It's not always easy, but I love my -- my job.
It's not a job for me.
It's my passion.
-While we're on this side of the lake, we simply must visit Auberge du Pre Bise -- a landmark here since 1903.
This 23-room hotel and restaurant has been elegantly renovated by current owner and two-Michelin-Star chef, Jean Sulpice.
Bonjour.
The restaurant used to buy California crayfish and keep them in a tank by the lakeshore.
One day, the crustaceans escaped into the open water... where they have thrived and multiplied, providing another seafood source from the lake.
[ Laughs ] When I studied in Talloires many years ago, Auberge du Pre Bise was very famous, but smaller.
Mm-hmm.
So what are we making with the shrimp?
Uh-huh.
So all the elements of the terroir, he's putting it over the pine.
[ Sniffs ] Mmm!
Smells so fresh, like the air.
Carapace.
Wow.
Incredible.
I've never seen anything quite like this.
And it smells like you're outside at a campfire.
It's beautiful, the colors.
Bon apptit.
-Merci.
-Mmm.
Mmm.
Mmm.
The crunch.
It's light, but crunchy.
Mmm.
This Auberge has brought new life to Talloires.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So... Ah!
[ Laughs ] That's perfect for this area.
Yes, yes.
It's a bird.
It's a plane.
It's a boat?
Well, yes.
It's SeaBubble.
Called flying taxis, these boats are electric hydrofoils that quite literally hover above the water.
They can carry 6 to 12 passengers and silently glide along at 12 to 16 knots, or about 14 to 18 miles per hour.
-Are you ready?
-I'm ready as I'll ever be.
-Let's go.
-Since it's still a prototype, each SeaBubble costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to make.
But as production ramps up, you could see one coming to a lake or a body of water near you.
Annecy native Grisette is our pilot.
We're kind of lifting off a little bit like a plane.
What do you call it?
Flying?
Sailing?
Driving?
-We call it flying.
-Flying.
-We're flying.
-We're actually on top of the water.
-Yes.
Yeah.
If you check outside there, you will see the foil under.
And we're not touching the water.
-Not at all.
-Yeah.
-It's very smooth.
-If you look behind, we don't do no waves.
-There's no waves.
-The people who have seasick don't feel it.
-This is amazing.
It's so good for the environment.
And I think Lake Annecy has set an example in many ways.
-It's the purest lake in Europe, so we want it to stay as pure as possible, and that's a good way to keep it pure.
-Preserving the environment.
-Yeah, with the SeaBubble.
No pollution, no noise, no waste.
-Wow.
That's incredible.
And so we're going to Chteau de Menthon?
-Yeah.
-And I think if we drive, it was, like, 40 minutes.
-Yeah.
-So it's faster, though, on the boat?
-Yeah.
Yeah.
With the boat, you don't have no traffic.
You can enjoy your ride.
-Plus, the scenery is better.
-Yeah.
[ Both laugh ] We're gonna be soon there.
-Okay.
I see it up there.
-Yeah.
So we're gonna land on the water.
-We land on the water?
Okay.
-Oh, yeah.
-Take off on the water.
Land on the water.
-Exactly.
Ready for the landing?
-Yep.
That's the smoothest landing I've ever had.
-Do you like the SeaBubble?
-I do.
I'm gonna find out how much one costs.
-Okay.
-For when I win the lottery.
-Ah!
-[ Laughs ] Perched 650 feet above the dock is the breathtaking Chteau de Menthon.
Bernard of Menthon, or St. Bernard, patron saint of skiers and namesake for the dog, was born here in 1008.
This medieval fortress is a symbol of Lake Annecy and cared for by the Menthon family.
[ Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" plays ] -I'm the 23rd generation of Menthon here.
Yes.
-That's incredible.
-It's very rare, I think, to -- for a family to live the same place for such a long time -- for 1,000 years.
-It truly is.
-It's a living house.
-And living history.
-Yeah.
-What's it like to have a 1,000-year-old chteau?
-You don't feel like a real owner of the place.
You're just there to testimony of the history of the castle and also to make, to build the future of it.
-Like a guardian.
And you hand it over.
-Yeah, sure.
That's it.
-And it looks like the castle from "Sleeping Beauty."
Has anyone ever told you that?
-Yes.
That's a big story, because Walt Disney made a trip here in Europe.
It was during the '30s and he visited the castle.
And when you see the castle from here... -From this view.
-...you can imagine that it inspired Walt Disney.
-So you have visitors who come to the castle, to the chteau.
What are some special things they can see inside?
-There's 105 rooms in this castle, 23 bedrooms.
-Mm-hmm.
-There's a chapel.
There is a grand salon.
We have a library which is very impressive because there are thousands of books from medieval time to the 18th century.
This is really a treasury for us.
-We were on Esprance, and when you're on the lake, it's such a landmark.
-We're linked to the people from Esprance, because we worked with them, create vineyard here in the Chteau de Menthon because the vineyards disappeared in the '60s.
So we made a new vineyard about five years ago, and we have our first bottles now.
You will drink a bottle of the wine of Menthon?
Will I?
-Yeah.
-Oh, I look forward to that.
Excellent.
And you will join me?
-Yeah, sure.
-And we will look at the view.
-Sure.
Thank you, Kathy, for coming.
And you're most welcome here in the castle of Menthon.
-Cheers.
And God bless America.
And God bless France... and Annecy.
-"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.
With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.
[ Elephant trumpets ] -Custom, privately guided travel.
Kensington.
See the world differently.
-For more about visiting Europe, additional videos, and a companion travel guide, visit dreamofeurope.com/tv.
Follow "Dream of Europe" on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Passport
Follow Us