Inland France Diving | Alpine Lakes, Quarries & Cave Systems

About Inland – Lakes, Quarries & Caves

Inland France is a hidden diving world of alpine lakes, flooded quarries and limestone caves, offering clear, cold training water and genuine technical adventure far from the sea. Lake Annecy and Lake Geneva are crystal-clear alpine lakes with submerged forests, cliffs and even wrecks, while Lake Bourget hides a submerged ancient shoreline and Lake Tignes and Serre-Ponçon cover drowned villages. Across the country, flooded quarries such as La Graule, Laon and Cernay provide controlled, year-round training with excellent visibility, and the great cave systems of the Lot, the Fontaine de Vaucluse resurgence and the Gouffre de Padirac attract certified cave divers. This is altitude and fresh-water diving at its most varied: easy for beginners in a quarry, profound for explorers in a sump.

Highlights

• ✓Lake Annecy: a crystal-clear alpine lake with a submerged forest and the Criou wreck
• ✓Lake Geneva (Lac Léman): the Hirondelle steamer wreck at 40-50 m
• ✓Lake Bourget: a submerged ancient shoreline and abbey wall
• ✓Flooded quarries: La Graule, Laon and Cernay for year-round training
• ✓Lot & Dordogne caves: Padirac, Vaucluse and the Ressel resurgence for tech diving

Getting There

The lakes and quarries are reached by car from the alpine towns (Annecy, Évian, Aix-les-Bains), the north (Laon) and the Dordogne/Lot. The caves require permits and authorised guides. Trains reach Annecy, Évian and Laon; the caves are deep in rural Occitanie and need a car.