Bed and Breakfast in Chambéry, Savoie

Au Coin Du Chemin is the only bed and breakfast listed in Chambéry, and it is a real guesthouse, rated 9.2 from about 170 reviews. Rooms are comfortable, each with a private bathroom, and guests have access to kitchen facilities, useful on longer stays or for preparing a picnic before a hike. The breakfast is a highlight: alongside a continental spread, the hosts offer a full English or Irish breakfast every day, an unusual choice in Savoie that gives a solid start before a day of skiing, cycling or walking. Free on-site private parking completes a welcoming, practical stay.

The location suits travellers with a specific reason to be in Chambéry. Au Coin Du Chemin is near SavoiExpo, the city's exhibition centre, and Le Phare, the arena used for handball, concerts and shows, so it is convenient for trade fairs and events. Chambéry-Savoie Airport, used by winter ski charters, is about seven kilometres away. The historic centre is a short drive or bus ride away rather than on the doorstep, so a car is helpful, and the free parking makes driving easy. For exploring the region, the motorway links to Annecy, Grenoble and the Tarentaise valley are close by.

Chambéry is a natural base for the outdoors. The Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France, lies just north, with Aix-les-Bains and its lakeside promenade about a quarter of an hour away. The Bauges and Chartreuse massifs offer hiking and cycling within half an hour, and the big ski resorts of the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys are reachable for day trips in winter. After a day outside, returning to a guesthouse with a kitchen and a quiet room is more relaxing than a city hotel, and the generous breakfast means you can head out without stopping for a meal.

Chambéry's old town rewards a few hours on foot. The Château des Ducs de Savoie, seat of the Dukes before Turin, houses the Sainte-Chapelle and the departmental government. The Fontaine des Éléphants, with its four elephants, is the city's emblem, and the arcaded Rue de Boigne leads to it from the castle. The Cathedral of Saint-François-de-Sales has remarkable trompe-l'œil painted vaults. Just outside the city, Les Charmettes is the country house where Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived in the 1730s, now a museum set in gardens on the hillside, and a pleasant short excursion.