Europe's Great Lakes, From the Alps to Lake Ladoga

Lake Lucerne opens the path as a lake in central Switzerland with an irregular, branching shape formed by the surrounding mountains. It covers 113.6 square kilometres and is closely associated with the legendary origins of the Swiss Confederation.

Lake Geneva, also known as Lac Leman, lies on the border between Switzerland and France, with Geneva and Lausanne on its shores. Its recorded area is 580.03 square kilometres and its maximum depth is 310 metres.

Lake Constance lies on the Rhine where the borders of Germany, Switzerland and Austria meet, formed where the river widens before continuing its course. It covers 536 square kilometres.

Lake Maggiore lies at the foot of the Alps and is shared between Italy and Switzerland, known for its mild lakeside climate and the Borromean Islands. Its area is 212.5 square kilometres.

Lake Como is a deep glacial lake in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, shaped like an inverted Y. Its area is 146 square kilometres, and steep wooded slopes line its shores.

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake at 369.98 square kilometres. Its southern end opens onto the Lombardy and Veneto plains while its north is flanked by steep mountains, which marks where the Alpine lakes meet the plain.

Lake Balaton in western Hungary is the largest lake in Central Europe, at 600 square kilometres. Unlike the deep Alpine lakes before it, it is shallow and relatively warm, with vineyards and resort towns along its northern shore.

Lake Vattern is Sweden's second-largest lake at 1,912 square kilometres, a long, deep lake in the south-central part of the country known for unusually clear water. The medieval castle town of Vadstena stands on its shore.

Lake Vanern is the largest lake in Sweden, at 5,650 square kilometres, and one of the largest in the European Union. Canal systems connect it to the North Sea and the Baltic.

Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland, at about 4,279 square kilometres, a complex system of interconnected basins in the southeast. It is the last refuge of the critically endangered Saimaa ringed seal, a freshwater seal found nowhere else.

Lake Inari is the largest lake in Finnish Lapland, at 1,040.28 square kilometres, dotted with thousands of islands. It lies within the traditional homeland of the Sami people and freezes over for much of the year.

Lake Peipus lies on the border between Estonia and Russia and covers 3,555 square kilometres, with an average depth of 7.1 metres. It was the site of the 1242 Battle on the Ice and remains an important fishery.

Lake Onega is the second-largest lake in Europe, at 9,891 square kilometres, and is connected to Lake Ladoga by the Svir River. The churches of Kizhi on its islands are significant medieval wooden architecture.

Lake Ladoga closes the path as the largest lake entirely within Europe, at 17,891 square kilometres, near Saint Petersburg. In the Second World War a route across its frozen surface, the Road of Life, helped sustain besieged Leningrad.