A Living French Fairy Tale~

Sip champagne and drink in the serene views...

A walking village only...

In the Garden of Five Senses

At the 200-year-old Hôtel du Port

Chateau Yvoire in the right-hand bottom corner, the church steeple
in the center of the town square up from the small  port

The Garden of Five Senses

Yvoire is famous in Europe for its horticulture

Chateau Yvoire

Yvoire on Lake Geneva is one of the prettiest of the official Les Plus Beaux Villages de France--and one of most beautiful floral spots in Europe.

Located in the chablis producing Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps--Yvoire seems to be a spot time has forgotten. Until you know that over 600,000 visitors arrive each year to be enchanted by the Garden of Five Senses located at the 14th-century chateau that since 1655 has been the d'Yvoire family home. 

With the village's medieval stone architecture offset by romantic balconies, quaint shutters, and the shimmering alpine lake as backdrop—solidity is conveyed alongside the joie de vivre of flowers bursting at every turn. At the center of the town square is the 11th century Saint Pancrace church. Named in honor of the patron saint of jobs, health, and children.

With its strategic locale on the Leman peninsula the town was fortified in the early 14th century and stood for 500 years as a military stronghold. Today, 800 residents nestle on the Swiss-French border—a 40-minute drive from the Geneva airport. Though warm weather lasts through October, the lake can be as treacherous as the North Sea in winter.

From the picturesque main harbor with its attractive promenade and park--you can board a cruise over to charming Swiss villages like Montreux. And it's a short drive to other notable French Alps villages Thonon les Bains, Evian, and Annecy included. Yvoire’s tourism site: (here)