Its midsection is lined with sheer mountain walls, the shoreline inaccessible by road. The lake water is clean enough to drink, and so clear you can see the bottom 30 feet down. The remote east end has only a handful of chalets, but a picturesque farming village perches above the west end. There's both alpine and cross-country skiing within walking distance. Walk to the lake too, where you'll find two groomed skating tracks.
Days are sunny and mild with no wind.
Lakeside cafes drag tables and chairs onto the ice, so you can relax and enjoy lunch in the warm sunshine without taking your skates off. In the evening a festive atmosphere reigns, as everyone walks or bikes to the village hotels for a delicious and inexpensive dinner. Get up before dawn. Eat a big breakfast and fill your water bottle. Then, just before sunrise, join hundreds of skaters gliding silently out to the start on Nordic Skates that clip onto cross-country ski boots.