Summer is here and the temperature is soaring. Oh for a gentle breeze to soften the unrelenting rays. Oh for a little airiness to take some of the sting out of the afternoon.

What you need, if that's the case, is to get higher. To go up in the world. To head for the hills.

The world is festooned with places that are just a little cooler. Not because they are awash with beardy hipsters making rhubarb beer or dandelion cheese - but because they sit at a reasonably lofty altitude, where the sun's impact is restrained just a touch.

How lofty? Well, for reasons of uniformity, the 10 destinations below all lie at an altitude of at least 400m (1,312ft; so well done to Annecy for coming in at exactly those figures). For reasons of simplicity, they are all be found in western or central Europe - if you fancy Cusco, Bogota or Kathmundu, you'll need to look elsewhere. And for reasons of general travel enjoyment, all of them are photogenic.

But if you want to remove some of the edge from the current heatwave, any of them will do the trick in the next few weeks - assuming your ideal weekend away involves gentle strolls, lakeside views and an evening glass of something chilled on a plaza or terrace...

Annecy (France)

Altitude: 400m (1,312ft)

What and where: Pitched at the northern tip of the lake of the same name, Annecy is a relatively underrated slice of French Alpine paradise - often passed through, but less frequently investigated, by skiers transferring from Geneva airport to the likes of Courchevel and Meribel. It merits closer inspection, especially during summer, when its nickname - "Pearl of the French Alps" - seems to chime with a definite ring of truth.

Annecy is a relatively underrated slice of French Alpine paradise Credit: getty

Main attraction: Somewhat obviously, Lake Annecy - 11 square miles of glacier-carved geography which stretches south of the city for nine steep-sided miles.

Stay: Le Boutik (leboutikhotel.com), a stylish property right on the waterside, has doubles in August from €175, room only.

Further information: en.lac-annecy.com

Konstanz (Germany)

Altitude: 405m (1,329ft)

What and where: The idea that Germany is all flatlands and pastures is debunked by its great inland waterside city. "Waterside" is the correct term here, as Konstanz occupies the south end of a peninsula shaped by Lake Constance (or the Bodensee, to deploy the local term) to the east and the Untersee (Lower Lake Constance) to the west - with the River Rhine connecting the two. Plenty of scope for sunset reflections.

The pretty Seestrasse Credit: GETTY

Main attraction: Seestrasse, which runs along the north shore of Lake Constance - with Art Nouveau houses decorating its hem and boats afloat in its marina. Ideal for an evening walk.

Stay: Hotel Riva, a chi-chi property with a rooftop pool and direct views of the lake. Double rooms in August from around £300, room only.

Further information: konstanz-tourismus.de

Salzburg (Austria)

Altitude: 424m (1,391ft)

What and where: Austria's fourth biggest city is pinned to the country's north-west border with Germany as closely as its image is tied to the brilliance of a certain 18th century composer (who was born in its midst in 1756). But for all the Mozart overtones (and yes, The Sound Of Music as well), Salzburg would not be as popular as destination were it not so picturesque, preening on the River Salzach in sight of the Alps.

Sound of Music fans will recognise Salzburg Credit: jakobradlgruber/bluejayphoto

Main attraction: The Mozart's Birthplace museum (mozarteum.at/en/museums; €11). If you are going to travel in the footsteps of genius, you may as well go to the source.

Stay: The Hotel Wolf Dietrich (salzburg-hotel.at), a classy central option which offers a spa - and double rooms in August from £216.

Further information: salzburg.info

Mozart's birthplace Credit: GETTY

Neuchatel (Switzerland)

Altitude: 434m (1,424ft)

What and where: Its name sounds like a compromise between the German and French-speaking worlds, and so it proves in real life - Neuchatel is the French-speaking capital of the westerly Swiss canton of the same name. It completes something of a titular trio by planting its feet in the north corner of Lake Neuchatel - which, at a swarthy 84 square miles, is the largest lake located entirely in Switzerland.

Neuchatel Credit: getty

Main attraction: The castle in question, the Chateau de Neuchatel, which has held its spires to the sky on the north flank of the lake since the 12th century.

Stay: The Beau Rivage (beau-rivage-hotel.ch), a lakeside delight with a gourmet restaurant (O’terroirs), and doubles in August from £245.

Further information: neuchateltourisme.ch

Lucerne (Switzerland)

Altitude: 435m (1,427ft)

What and where: Switzerland is not short on waterside idylls. Lucerne maintains an almost identical altitude to Neuchatel, but swaps the country's biggest sole-preserve body of water for the snakelike twists and turns of Lake Lucerne. It is compact place, easily explored, with the 14th century Kapellbrücke footbridge connecting the two halves of the city (where the River Reuss separates them) in camera-calling fashion.

Lucerne, one of Switzerland's numerous waterside idylls Credit: GETTY

Main attraction: The Museggmauer, the city's 14th century walls - an impressive stretch of which is still in tact, including the Schirmer, Zyt, Wacht and Männli towers.

Stay: If you want to flee the town for (very) high-end sophistication, the Burgenstock resort, 16 miles around the water to the south-east, has doubles in August from £335. It also has a cinema and its own funicular railway to the lake's edge.

Further information: luzern.com

The Burgenstock resort

Klagenfurt (Austria)

Altitude: 446m (1,463ft)

What and where: Popular perception tends to view Klagenfurt as a ski destination - but while the capital of the Austrian state of Carinthia is certainly a gateway to the pistes in winter, it is also a fine option for summer escapes. It unfurls around Neuer Platz, its heart - but as Austria's sixth largest city, it also stretches east, to the edge of the Worthersee. A three-mile cab ride will carry you to Carinthia's sixth biggest lake.

The Worthersee Credit: getty

Main attraction: The lakeside has both the leafy Europapark and the cute curiosity of the Minimundus (minimundus.at; €19), which presents the world in miniature form.

Stay: The Hotel Platenwirt (plattenwirt.at), a pleasing four-star option down near the water, with a 24-hour bar and double rooms in August from £106.

Further information: visitklagenfurt.at

Hallstatt (Austria)

Altitude: 511m (1,677ft)

What and where: Not so much an Austrian city as a village of postcard perfection, pinned almost to the heart of the country in Oberösterreich. Though it cannot match Salzburg and Klagenfurt for cultural history or size, it arguably trumps both in appeal to the camera lens - because, perhaps inevitably, it perches on the lip of a mountain lake. Its buildings admire their own images in the placid surface of the Hallstätter See.

The town from above Credit: GETTY

Main attraction: If going underground in such a location doesn't seem strange, the Salt Caves (salzwelten.at; €34), once the village's key income source, are fascinating.

Stay: The Seehotel Gruner Baum (gruenerbaum.cc), a four-star oasis within earshot of the waves, offering double rooms in August from £228.

Further information: hallstatt.net

Lausanne (Switzerland)

Altitude: 526m (1,726ft)

What and where: You could accuse Lake Geneva of being greedy. Not only does it boast the city of the same name, at its western end, but its north shore supports Lausanne, a lovely urban sliver which somehow ranks as the fourth biggest urban dot on the map of Switzerland despite feeling decidedly more diminutive in size and spirit. So diminutive, in fact, that it is deemed the world’s smallest city with a metro/tube/subway system. All 28 stops of it.

Little Lausanne somehow ranks as the fourth biggest urban dot on the map of Switzerland Credit: GETTY

Main attraction: The Olympic Museum (olympic.org/museum). Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee. The museum is host to more than a century of memorabilia.

Stay: The Hotel Royal Savoy is an Art Nouveau palace of a hotel which dates to 1909, has doubles in August from £324.

Further information: lausanne-tourisme.ch

Ohrid (Macedonia)

Altitude: 695m (2,280ft)

What and where: A curveball in that its southerly latitude, almost on the border with Greece, probably wipes out any cooling factor accrued from its impressive altitude. But so beautiful is this tiny fragment of Macedonia - with its churches and houses arranged around the edge of Lake Ohrid - that it has been granted Unesco World Heritage status. It is a place to stand, stare, stroll at a slow pace, and soak up the scenery.

Churches dot the shores of Lake Ohrid Credit: GETTY

Main attraction: The 11th century St Sophia’s is arguably the most splendid of Ohrid’s many churches - its ceilings are adorned with frescoes which sing of the Middle Ages.

Stay: The four-star Hotel Tino (hoteltino.com.mk) has a stone’s-throw lakeside address, and double rooms from €69, with breakfast.

Further information: visitohrid.org

Gap (France)

Altitude: 735m (2,411ft)

What and where: Connoisseurs of the Tour de France will recognise the three-letter name of this Alpine extremity - its considerable elevation has made it a regular component of the race’s tougher stages. It maintains its poise outside cycling season as both the capital of the Hautes-Alpes department and the highest department capital in the whole country - and is a great base for walking breaks through flower-filled pastures.

Gap is a gateway to Écrins National Park Credit: getty

Main attraction: Gap is a gateway to Écrins National Park (ecrins-parcnational.fr), which hits a peak of 4,102 m (13,458 ft) in the craggy form of the Barre des Ecrins mountain.

Stay: Convenient and cosy, the Hotel Ibis Gap (accorhotels.com) has doubles from £64.

Further information: france-voyage.com/tourism/gap-1330.htm