Trenes a Cluses

The resort town of Cluses in the French Alps is easily reached by train. An hour from Annecy and two hours from Geneva, Cluses is well served by regional express (TER) trains and also benefits from direct trains from Paris in the ski season and at other holiday periods. The watchmakers who once brought wealth to Cluses are long gone. Today, the town relies heavily on year-round tourism, although there's a reminder of the town's former staple industry in a neat little watchmaking museum.

Winter brings the ski crowd, bound in the main for the slopes at Grand Massif; in the summer this region of Haute-Savoie is popular with hillwalkers and families. Cluses is a good base for excursions. Lake Geneva is just 50 km away to the north. Another popular trip is to take the train up the Arve Valley to Chamonix and beyond. This involves taking a regional train from Cluses to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, changing there onto the Mont-Blanc Express for the onward journey into the mountains.

The quickest journeys by train from Paris to Cluses take under five hours. There are direct TGVs from the capital on peak travel days. When there is no direct train, the fastest route is with one change at Bellegarde (Ain). It is perfectly possible to reach Cluses from London within a day. The best itinerary, via Paris and Bellegarde (Ain), takes under eight hours.