It’s that time of year again when the streets of Europe start to fill with the sound of music, as professional and amateur musicians of all ages and abilities celebrate the Fete de la Musique, on 21 June 2011.
With its origins in France (read more on the history), this annual festival marks the beginning of Summer and covers a wide variety of music styles, with bands playing free of charge to the public. Since the festival was first proposed by Maurice Fleuret and launched in 1982, numerous countries throughout Europe have "come on board", each marking the occasion with its own unique brand of talented musicians.
In Switzerland, each village, town or city has its own special way of celebrating the event – in Geneva, this year, concerts will run over 3 days between 17 and 19 June, while in Lausanne the event will be celebrated on just one day with over 125 concerts covering groove, jazz, metal, rock, classical and electronic music – to name but a few! In France, most towns celebrate on the day of the Summer solstice, 21 June.
Château d'Aigle, Valais
This is an extract from ©Know-it-all passport® 2011/2012 and all page numbers are referring to this edition. This section is taken from pages 84-85. See map here at reference square H4.
— Tourist Office
L’Association Touristique
Rue Colomb 5
1860 Aigle - Leysin
024 466 30 00
In the village, several historical sights can be visited, including the Church of St Maurice founded in 1138 (Eglise du Cloître) and rebuilt in the 15th century.
Around the village of Aigle, there are wine cellars to visit and wine-tasting organized by owners. There are also many walking paths through the vineyards.
The mini-train, Le P'tit Chablaisien, circulates on weekends in June, and daily in July and August, and will take you on a 50-minute trip with one of the stops being the Château. You can start at the Aigle train station if you want to park there. Note: Wine-tasting on-board for Fr. 5.-/person on Fridays in July and August for mini-trains leaving at 17h15 and 18h30; sign-up at the Tourist Office before noon. Click here for map of Aigle with the mini-train stops. Price without wine-tasting is Fr. 4.-/person, children up to age 9 free-of-charge.
A new club has formed in Nyon, offering women the opportunity to take part in sports activities that are suited to their lifestyle and fitness level.
Called SHEzone, the club opened in Spring with the launch of MOMMYzone, a fitness programme targeted at mothers. Although the first classes have already started, it is possible to join a course at any time. A choice of two classes is being offered, involving moms, babies and their strollers, and these are being held in Nyon at either the Parc & Sentier du Boiron or the Parc du Bourg-de-Rive, or in Geneva at the Parc Mon Repos.
The Stroller-circuit class is open to all fitness levels and combines cardio drills with strength-training exercises, to target all of the major muscle groups. Abnominal excercises, mat Pilates and yoga techniques are also used to strengthen and tone your body.
If you’re a keen walker and enjoy hiking on the Salève, then you’ve probably noticed the build up of waste, left on the mountain during last year’s hiking season.
Not only is it very unsightly, but much of it can harm animals living on the mountain as they step on pieces of broken glass, or try to eat plastic bags left lying around on the ground.
Christophe HUMBLOT, a member of the Association Sangha sur Salève, is keen to clear up the paths before the new hiking season starts in earnest. To get things moving, he’s decided, with the Association, to arrange a special half-day walk, called “For a Clean Salève”.
Taking place on Saturday 28th May, participants are invited to meet at 9am at the lower station of the Salève cable car (téléphérique), where they will be given a briefing about the morning walk. The cable car will be offered free of charge to all those taking part in the event.
Once at the top, hikers will walk along the Saleve, collecting waste as they go. Rubbish will be stored in waste bags that can be left on the side of the road, to be collected later by a separate vehicle. At noon, a minibus will collect all the participants and take them to the Town Hall of Monnetier-Mornex, where they can enjoy a light meal, and congratulate themselves on a job well done!
If you haven’t purchased our great Know-it-all passport guide yet and have been wondering what wonderful things we have included, then wonder no more! Here is a sample of what you will find in the 2011/2012 edition:
ANNECY
Directions: If you take the autoroute A41 (toll) it will take about 25 minutes to the exit Annecy Centre Ville. Or take the D1201 through Cruseilles and on to Annecy which will take about 45 minutes from the center of Geneva.
Canals run through the old town of Annecy and restaurants line every street. The lake is well-known for its beauty and paddle or row boats, may be hired. There is a large old-fashioned carousel near the lake that runs most of the year.
