Annecy: the “Venice of the Alps” beside a clear lake

The compact, pedestrianised Vieille Ville has arcades and colourful façades. The short Thiou river flows out of the lake through town, with canals and flower-decked bridges alongside.

Palais de l'Isle

Annecy's most recognisable building: a ship-shaped, 12th-century stone house in the canal. It has been a residence, mint, courthouse and prison. Today it houses a city history and architecture museum.

Annecy château

Above the old town stands the 12th–16th-century castle of the Counts of Geneva and Dukes of Nemours. Inside are museum collections about the Alps and lake; its terrace overlooks roofs and water.

Cathedral and churches

Saint Peter's Cathedral, Saint Maurice's Church and, on the hill, the Basilica of the Visitation, linked to Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, who lived in Annecy.

Pont des Amours and Jardins de l'Europe

An elegant bridge over the Vassé canal, separating the Jardins de l'Europe from the lakeside park. Legend says couples who kiss on the bridge stay together for life.

The lake is around 14 km long, surrounded by mountains. Its clear turquoise water reaches 22–24 °C in summer. That cleanliness took considerable work: a wastewater collection system was built around the lake in the 1960s to save it from pollution.

Things to do on the lake:

• Talloires, on the east shore: former Benedictine abbey and waterside restaurants.

• Menthon-Saint-Bernard, a turreted fairytale château on rock above the lake, open in summer. It is said to have inspired the castle in Snow White.
• Duingt, a little peninsula village with a château.
• Gorges du Fier, walkways over a river gorge 10 km from town.
• Semnoz waterfall and Col de la Forclaz, for views from above.

Annecy is a Savoie cheese capital within easy reach of the mountains.

• Fondue, raclette and tartiflette in old-town restaurants. Read “Savoie cuisine”.

• Reblochon, made in the nearby Aravis, 30 minutes away.
• Lake fish, féra whitefish and Arctic char cooked in butter.
• Savoie wines, Jacquère and Altesse whites, Mondeuse red.
• Ice cream in the old town, a local summer tradition.

The large old-town food market runs Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings. Farm-direct cheeses, charcuterie, honey and berries. An antiques market takes place on the last Saturday of the month.

Read “Savoie cheeses” for what to buy.

• By air, Geneva airport, around 45 minutes by car or bus.

• By train, TGV from Paris in around 3 hours 40 minutes.
• By car, around one and a half hours from Lyon or one hour from Chamonix.

You cannot park in the old town; use underground car parks along the centre's edge.

A third day allows the Gorges du Fier, an Aravis Reblochon dairy or Chambéry.

Annecy grew where the Thiou leaves the lake. In the Middle Ages it was a residence of the Counts of Geneva. When Geneva became Protestant in the 16th century, its Catholic bishop moved to Annecy, which became an Alpine Counter-Reformation centre. Francis de Sales, bishop, writer and saint, worked here; with Jane de Chantal, he founded the Order of the Visitation. Their relics lie in the hilltop basilica.

Young Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived in Annecy in the 18th century and met Madame de Warens, later described in his Confessions. A plaque in the cathedral garden marks their meeting place.

Like the rest of Savoie, Annecy became French only in 1860, after a referendum. In the 20th century it became industrial, then one of France's most desirable places to live: lake, mountains and Geneva nearby.

By the mid-20th century, the lake was near ecological collapse: household and industrial wastewater, algal blooms and dying fish. In 1957, local authorities created one of France's first intercommunal bodies to save a lake. A sewer collector gathered wastewater from all lakeside villages and sent it to a treatment plant downstream. The work took years, but the lake recovered. Today its water can be drunk after simple treatment, and whitefish, char and pike thrive here.

• Cycling: flat, safe western-shore path; the 40 km circuit partly uses roads. Rentals in Annecy; electric bikes help with the hilly eastern shore.

• Walking: trails to Semnoz, with Mont Blanc views, climbs to Mont Veyrier, and walks to Angon waterfall.
• Paragliding: a 20–30-minute tandem flight from Forclaz above the lake, one of France's finest views.
• Water sports: paddleboards, kayaks, sailing boats and licence-free electric boats.
• Winter: La Clusaz, Le Grand-Bornand and Semnoz ski areas within an hour.

Annecy is very family-friendly: short distances, beaches, parks and safe cycle routes. Children enjoy old-town canals, ice cream and boats, the lakeside playground in the Jardins de l'Europe and the gently shelving Impérial beach. A good half-day trip combines Gorges du Fier walkways with nearby Montrottier château. Summer boats stop at villages, handy when children tire of cycling.

Book two to three months ahead for summer.

Geneva is around 45 minutes away. Many guests fly there, stay in Annecy and explore Savoie: Chamonix and Mont Blanc, one hour; Chambéry and Lake Bourget, 45 minutes; Yvoire on Lake Geneva, one hour. More convenient than staying in expensive Geneva.

Annecy's restaurants range from simple to Michelin-starred. Lakeside Talloires and Veyrier-du-Lac have some of the Alps' best starred restaurants, using lake fish, mountain herbs and local cheese. The old town has dozens of Savoie restaurants. Order:

• Féra or Arctic char fillet, with butter, lemon and potatoes, the lake's signature fish dish;

• Tartiflette or fondue, in winter and on cool evenings;
• Salade savoyarde, with bacon, potatoes, cheese and walnuts;
• Blueberry tart, in summer;
• A glass of Jacquère or Roussette de Savoie.

Book summer waterside tables for sunset. Many old-town restaurants serve continuously, useful after a lake outing.

Many consider September and May the best months. September's water is still warm enough to swim, with fewer tourists. Hillside forests turn yellow, mountain villages celebrate descending herds, and markets offer mushrooms, nuts and new-season cheese. May brings flower-decked canals, snow still on mountains and lower prices than summer. Spring's only drawback is changeable weather: bring a rain jacket.

• Market cheeses: Reblochon, Beaufort, Tomme de Savoie and Abondance;

• Savoie wines: Jacquère, Altesse and Mondeuse;
• Génépi, an Alpine herbal liqueur;
• Mountain meadow honey;
• Charcuterie, diots sausages and cured ham;
• Wooden crafts and cowbells, traditional Alpine souvenirs.

Read “Savoie cheeses”.

Annecy is one of the French Alps' most expensive summer towns. Guide prices: July hotels from €150–200 a night; restaurant lunch €25–40; fondue €25–35 per person; lake cruise €15–25; bike rental €15–25 daily; paragliding €100–150. Spring and autumn hotels cost roughly a third less. Save with a picnic: buy cheese, bread, charcuterie and fruit at the market and eat on lakeside grass, as locals do.

Forty-five minutes away is Chambéry, former capital of the Duchy of Savoie, with the dukes' château, Elephant Fountain and quiet old town. Nearby Aix-les-Bains is a spa town beside Lake Bourget, France's largest natural lake, close to Hautecombe Abbey, burial place of members of the House of Savoy. Between them are Chignin and Apremont vineyards offering Jacquère tastings. Easily combined in a day from Annecy.

Annecy is easy without a car: pedestrian old town, lakeside buses and boats, and a cycle path to Duingt. A car is useful for mountains, Aravis cheese dairies and passes. Central parking is paid and full in summer; many hotels have their own parking, so check when booking.

1. Arriving on a July Saturday without booking. Accommodation and parking fill up.
2. Staying only in the old town. The lake is the main attraction.
3. Missing the market.
4. Driving into the centre.
5. Not trying Savoie wines. They are hard to find outside the region.

Lake Annecy, Beaufort and Reblochon dairies, Savoie wines at local estates and fondue and tartiflette workshops. → Savoie food tour · Savoie cuisine · Savoie cheeses