Altitude 236 meters, population 25,000 Aixois, sunshine 2,000 hours a year, floral decorations 400,000 flowers, 300 hectares of landscaped parks. Those are the bald statistics that define but don’t nearly describe Aix-les-Bains, a small sleepy French town on the banks of Lac du Bourget.

Taking a walking tour and going mountain biking around the town last fortnight was a refreshing change from the hot humid climate of this part of the world. It didn’t take much time to realize how rich this tourist resort is as a spa center. The town’s downtown, close to Park Hotel at Charles-de-Gaulle avenue where we spent a couple of days, is dotted with pharmacies. Some of them deal exclusively in footwear and medicines for sufferers of arthritis.

A friend, whose wife has been suffering from knee and ankle pain for years, walked into one such shop and bought a pair of sandals. “I’ve heard a lot about this place I’ve no difficulty in buying what I want to help the condition,” he said.

There were other accessories in great demand like medically recommended belts for arthritic problems. “People come from far and near to buy these accessories,” a French woman managing the shop said.

Are arthritis and rheumatism the most common problems here? The woman answered: “It’s natural for people to have arthritis or rheumatism as they are aging. There are a lot of elderly people here. The young have now mainly gone to seek work elsewhere.”

During our visit the weather was beautiful, daylight lasting up to 10 p.m. Occasional light drizzles accompanied by wind blowing from Lac du Bourget simply freshened the atmosphere.

Lac du Bourget is France’s biggest natural lake, formed by melting glaciers some 19,000 years ago. It is 18 km long and 3.5 km wide with an average depth of 85 meters. It holds 3.62 billion cubic meters of water, which is a year’s domestic water consumption for the whole of France, 2,664 mooring rings and has three tributaries — the Leysse, the Tillet and the Sierroz. It has one outflow — the Saviere canal between the lake and the river Rhone.

It was superfluous for a guide to tell us that Aix is a center for health, sport and shopping. Its rich heritage was in evidence what with its many monuments, castles and palaces.

“You should come during festival time. The place wears a colorful look then,” the guide said. High points include August flower and pasture festivals and Navig Aix, the world’s largest meeting of old craft and steam pinnaces.

Aix has France’s largest spa dedicated to treating rheumatism with water, mud and hot steam. The Marlioz spas specialize in treating ear, nose, throat and buccolingual mucous membrane diseases. The building still has the original doorway by Pellegrini dated 1860. The Phytomer Center, the Aqualioz and the Adelphia spas provide treatment pools, massages, saunas, steam baths, aqua gym, beauty care, water jets and jacuzzis.

Tennis, golf and horse riding and racing abound, providing first class facilities that have been developed for top level athletes. The Japanese team chose Aix for their workouts for the 1998 World Cup football. Large-scale athletic meetings, stages of the Tour de France and the Classique des Alps, French national football, rugby and swimming team training camps have taken place here at some time.

Close by, the Chautagne forest is one of the largest in Europe with 750 hectares to explore on foot and mountain bike. It has a local discovery route clearly marked through eight of its villages. The Savieres is a natural canal with the outflow of water from the lake toward the river Rhone. Tourist cruises have made it immensely popular. Other attractions are Conjux, a fishing village and Chanaz village on the canal banks, Chatillon castle dating from the 13th century and a wealth of lake and stream angling. The Royal Abbey of Hautecombe — a masterpiece in the troubadour gothic style and the burial place of the royal house of Savoie is a “must see” sight.

The Corsuet forest lies between the town center and the lake. The 116-hectare forest is criss-crossed with sign-posted paths for rambling and mountain biking. La Dent du Chat is a legendary place with the single highest peak in the L’Epine range. Le Revard boasts 150 km of Nordic ski trails and paths for rambling and mountain biking and is an exceptional site for paragliding and hang-gliding.

Aix-les-Bains is just a 90-minute drive from Geneva. If any vacationer wants to laze around or mountain bike then this is the best destination.