Annecy – BMW

Annecy earns its old nickname honestly. Canals thread through the medieval quarter, geraniums spilling from window boxes above water so clear it shows the current shifting beneath stone bridges, and the lake beyond opens into one of the cleanest large bodies of water in Europe, ringed on every side by the Bornes and Bauges massifs. Above the shoreline at Talloires, Auberge du Pere Bise has been serving Michelin-starred Savoyard cooking to lakeside guests for generations, the kind of restaurant that treats a dining room view as seriously as the food. The drive up to Col de la Forclaz does the rest of the work: switchback after switchback climbing above the treeline until the lake appears in full, paragliders lifting off from the same ridge where the road ends.

BMW brings a confident, driver-focused character, engineering that wants to be used rather than just admired. Rent or hire a BMW with Zeus Prestige and it arrives exactly as booked, ready for the climb to Col de la Forclaz, the canals of the old town just as at home. Rent or hire your sports car with Zeus Prestige in Annecy, delivered exactly as booked.

It's the kind of ascent that asks real composure of a car built to hold a line through altitude changes most roads never attempt.

Browse the full Sports Cars collection available in Annecy for more like it.