Musée des Charmettes Chambéry

Geneva-born philosopher, composer and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a key figure of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, lived the happiest years of his life in this serene country house between 1736 and 1742. It's laden with original features, like 18th-century wallpaper and fainting couches. Even those with little interest in the life of Rousseau might find their interest piqued by stories of his 'instruction' under Madame de Warens, who took the much-younger philosopher as her lover here. It's a steep 2km southeast of central Chambéry.