Switzerland - without

Switzerland - without depending on either of them.” Voltaire acquired his estate in 1759 and restored the existing castle, it’s just a five-minute drive from the French exit to Geneva Airport. And it’s here that he found intellectual freedom, away from the pressures of Versailles, and where he led his most productive years until his death in 1778. He hardly ever left the estate, instead he was inspired to write, protesting against social injustice, political and religious intolerance, mostly through his literary work as well as letters of activism, which, along with furnishings of the period and his collection of portraits and figurines are displayed in the castle which is now a museum. HIDDEN GEMS of FRANCE Discovering Pays de Gex © Nicolas Gascard A spot of wellness Close by, the spa town of Divonne-les-Bains is a perfect place to contemplate Voltaire’s philosophies while sitting on a beach with a cocktail, watching swimmers and paddle boarders enjoy the water at your feet. A couple of palm trees sway in the wind, but the backdrop doesn’t lie. You’re not in the tropics but a fountain’s squirt from the French Alps. Divonne is popular for its thermal baths, believed to sooth mental and physical ailments, but if that’s not your thing, maybe a round of golf at one of the several courses, or playing blackjack at the Grand Hotel du Amy McPherson visits the small department of Pays de Gex and finds that sometimes, small regions are huge fun… The Pays de Gex in the Ain department, wedged between Lake Geneva and the Jura Mountains is bijou and beautiful. Depending on the season, you could be hiking or skiing a mere 15 minutes after exiting Geneva airport, and immediately feel like you’re 1000 miles away. And that is exactly what the great French writer and philosopher Voltaire thought too. A corner of worldly influence François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, made Ferney, a small hamlet in Pays de Gex, his retreat in the 18th Century. It was this ‘between places’ feeling that he desired. Talking of his castle, he declared “is there a happier state? I am between France and Voltair Castle in Ferney 78 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 79