Yvoire and Excenevex: The Medieval Port, the Five Senses Garden and the Only Sand Beach in Haute-Savoie
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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Yvoire Labyrinth Walker
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200
XP
+100 France
= 300 total
1 day
Yvoire and Excenevex: The Medieval Port, the Five Senses Garden and the Only Sand Beach in Haute-Savoie
200 + 100 XP
Yvoire, on a point of Lake Geneva's southern shore, keeps the walls Amadeus V of Savoy built in the 14th century and is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. In its heart the Jardin des Cinq Sens is laid out as a labyrinth of hedges and espaliered apple trees, and round the bay Excenevex has the only natural sandy beach on the French shore of the lake.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk Yvoire end to end through both of its gates — the tour de Nernier facing west and the tour de Rovorée facing east, square towers of 5 m by 6 m built in 1318 — and stop below the castle Amadeus V of Savoy bought and refortified in 1306, burned after the Bernese takeover and in the same family's hands since 1615
2
of 4
Find your way through the hornbeam and espaliered-apple labyrinth of the Jardin des Cinq Sens, on the site of the castle's old kitchen garden, and use each room for the sense it was planted for — taste the edible flowers in the Jardin du Goût, handle the textures in the Toucher, and stand still in the Ouïe until you can hear the aviary over the water — then rest in the Cloister among medieval medicinal plants
3
of 4
Walk the length of the beach at Excenevex on the golfe de Coudrée, the only fine-sand beach in Haute-Savoie, sand the lake itself piled up here and on which a good part of the village is built, and swim off it in summer with the Jura on the far shore
4
of 4
Take a CGN lake boat from the Yvoire landing stage and look back at the village from the water, where you can see why a castle was put here: the promontory runs out between the small lake and the great lake and closes the narrows
Walk Yvoire end to end through both of its gates — the tour de Nernier facing west and the tour de Rovorée facing east, square towers of 5 m by 6 m built in 1318 — and stop below the castle Amadeus V of Savoy bought and refortified in 1306, burned after the Bernese takeover and in the same family's hands since 1615
Find your way through the hornbeam and espaliered-apple labyrinth of the Jardin des Cinq Sens, on the site of the castle's old kitchen garden, and use each room for the sense it was planted for — taste the edible flowers in the Jardin du Goût, handle the textures in the Toucher, and stand still in the Ouïe until you can hear the aviary over the water — then rest in the Cloister among medieval medicinal plants
Walk the length of the beach at Excenevex on the golfe de Coudrée, the only fine-sand beach in Haute-Savoie, sand the lake itself piled up here and on which a good part of the village is built, and swim off it in summer with the Jura on the far shore
Take a CGN lake boat from the Yvoire landing stage and look back at the village from the water, where you can see why a castle was put here: the promontory runs out between the small lake and the great lake and closes the narrows
Before you go
The Jardin des Cinq Sens is shut from early October to mid-April — the 2026 season ran 10 April to 4 October — and the ticket desk closes an hour before the garden does. It is two of the three activities, so there is no point coming for this challenge in winter or in early spring; by mid-September it is already on the shorter timetable. The medieval streets of Yvoire and the sand at Excenevex are open at any time of year, and the lake is cold enough that swimming at Excenevex is a July and August matter.
The Jardin des Cinq Sens opens from mid-April to mid-October only, so an early-spring or late-autumn trip gets the village and the lake but not the garden. It is one of the busiest sites in Haute-Savoie, so go early in the day in July and August. The beach at Excenevex shelves very gently, which makes it good for small children and means the swimming is a long walk out.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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