Col de la Forclaz above the lake at sunrise

The Col de la Forclaz is the pass above Montmin, and its south-facing meadow is one of the best-known paragliding launches in Europe. For a photographer it is simply the balcony over Lake Annecy: the entire lake from Annecy town at the far end to the Roc de Chère and the Duingt headland below you, the Bauges rising on the far shore, and a foreground of grass and wildflowers instead of the usual guard rail.

Sunrise is the frame worth driving for. The lake sits in shadow while the tops go pink, mist often lies on the water in the valley, and the first wings launch as soon as the air moves — a couple in the foreground with a canopy lifting behind them is a photograph you cannot stage anywhere else on the lake. Evening works too, with the sun going down behind the western ridge and the water turning metallic.

Be realistic about the drive and the conditions. It is a winding twenty-five minutes up from the lakeside, the last stretch is narrow, and the parking fills through the morning in season. Cloud sits on the pass often enough that a plan B in town is sensible, and the meadow is genuinely exposed — cold at dawn even in summer, and windy whenever the flying is good.

Etiquette matters here more than usual: the launch area is a working site. Stay off the marked take-off strips, keep clear of laid-out canopies and lines, and let pilots go first — they need the window more than you do. There is a café and restaurant at the pass, and the terrace itself is a decent bad-weather frame.