The lake, heart of the town
Lake Gérardmer is the largest natural lake in the Vosges. The path around it takes a little over an hour on flat, shaded ground suitable for pushchairs and children alike. In summer, three managed beaches offer supervised swimming, along with pedalos, paddleboards and rowing boats for hire. In winter, walking the lake under snow early in the morning is a rare kind of pleasure.
The town centre and markets
Rue Charles de Gaulle is lined with shops, confectioners and stores selling local Vosges produce. The market is held on Thursday mornings on place du Vieux Gérardmer: mountain cheeses, cured meats, bilberries in season. Do not leave without a farmhouse Munster, some fir honey or a bottle of beer brewed in the valley.
Food and local specialities
Eating well matters here. Munster cheese, tourte vosgienne, stream trout, bilberries and the famous Vosges sweets appear on most menus. The farm-inns up on the ridges serve the repas marcaire, a generous mountain set menu, while the town centre offers everything from winstubs to fine dining.
Something to do all year
The International Fantastic Film Festival in January, the Daffodil Festival in spring, lakes and trails in summer, the forest colours in October: Gérardmer has no real off-season. The chalet, for its part, is open all year.
The Pearl of the Vosges, a resort since 1875
Gérardmer owes its nickname, the « Pearl of the Vosges », to Abel Hugo, and its tourism to a walks committee founded in July 1875 — one of the very first visitor organisations in France, long before the phrase « tourist office » existed. That head start still shows in the network of paths around the lake and in the density of hotels. The town itself, however, is young: 85 % of Gérardmer was destroyed in November 1944 during the liberation. Hence the post-war architecture, plain and regular, which often surprises first-time visitors.
Getting your bearings in the valley
The town centre sits at 675 metres, but the commune climbs to 1,137 metres at the Tête de Grouvelin, its highest point — and the site of the La Mauselaine ski area. Gérardmer has around 7,600 inhabitants and three lakes on or beside its territory: Gérardmer, Longemer and Retournemer, strung along the same glacial valley. The chalet stands on the La Mauselaine side, halfway between the town centre and the pistes: a quarter of an hour on foot down to the lake, three minutes to the lifts.
