The French Alps (see list hotels)are those parts of the Alps mountain range which lie in France. They are within the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and Rhône-Alpes. The specific subranges of the Alps that are at least partly in France include (from south to north):

Maritime Alps
Cottian Alps
Dauphiné Alps
Belledonne
Massif des Écrins
Graian Alps
Mont Blanc Massif
Vanoise Massif
Pennine Alps
French Prealps
Mont Blanc is the highest point of the French Alps (and of the Alps as a whole).

Notable towns include Grenoble, Chamonix and Chambéry.

General
The Alps (German: Alpen; Italian: Alpi; French: Alpes; Romansh: Alps; Slovenian: Alpe) is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. The word "Alps" was taken via French from Latin Alpes (meaning "the Alps"), which may be influenced by the Latin words albus (white) or altus (high) or more likely a Latin rendering of a Celtic or Ligurian original.

The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc, at 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), on the Italian-French border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps and list of Alpine peaks by prominence.

Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes (Arpitan : Rôno-Arpes; Occitan: Ròse Aups) is one of the 26 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris.

Geography
Rhône-Alpes is located in the east of France. To the north are the French regions of Bourgogne (Burgundy) and Franche-Comté, to the west it borders the region Auvergne, to the south it borders Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The east of the region contains the western part of the Alps and borders Switzerland and Italy. The highest peak is Mont Blanc. The central part of the region is taken up with the valley of the Rhône and the Saône. The confluence of these two rivers is at Lyon. The western part of the region contains the start of the Massif Central mountain range. The region also borders or contains major lakes such as Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) and Lake Annecy. The Ardèche is home to the deepest gorge in Europe.

As with the rest of France, French is the only official language of the region. 50 years ago, Arpitan was widely spoken in the whole region. Many of the inhabitants of the south spoke varieties of Occitan although it is in steep decline in this region. There were a relatively large immigrant populations from Poland, Italy, Portugal and North Africa, amongst other places.

Rhône-Alpes is made up of the following départements:

Ain (01). Capital: Bourg-en-Bresse
Ardèche (07). Capital: Privas
Drôme (26). Capital: Valence
Isère (38). Capital: Grenoble
Loire (42). Capital: Saint-Étienne
Rhône (69). Capital: Lyon
Savoie (73). Capital: Chambéry
Haute-Savoie (74). Capital: Annecy

Départements

    * Haute-Savoie
    * Savoie
    * Isère
    * Drôme
    * Hautes-Alpes
    * Alpes maritimes
    * Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Get in

The French Alps are well connected to the rest of the country. It has an international airport nearby of Grenoble (Grenoble Isère Airport), also Lyon and every cities has a direct TGV (fast train) to Paris. Many towns are also connected by TGV or ordinary trains. There are also highways in many valleys. There is also the international airport of Geneva (Switzerland) nearby.
Cities

    * Albertville (Winter Olympic Games in 1992)
    * Annecy
    * Chambéry
    * Grenoble (Winter Olympic Games in 1968)

Other destinations
Ski resorts

    * Alpe d'Huez
    * Chamonix (Winter Olympic Games in 1924)
    * Isola 2000
    * La Clusaz
    * Le Grande Massif
    * Les Deux Alpes
    * Les Trois Vallées {Winter Olympic Games 1992}
    * Megève
    * Portes du Soleil
    * Tignes/Val d'Isère
    * Val Thorens (part of Les Trois Vallées)

Water sports

    * Lake of Aiguebelette (World Rowing Cup ? in ?)
    * Lake of Annecy
    * Lake of Bourget
    * Lake Geneva - Currently the Societe Nautique de Geneve and the mercenary team of Alinghi holds the America's cup.