As we drove around the shores of lake Annecy the day before to get to our campsite, our first impressions were that it felt very different to lake Thunersee. Firstly, it lacked the 'real' mountains of Switzerland and also felt busier, more cosmopolitan, more developed. None of these were complaints, just observations. Lake Annecy is beautiful and very popular with tourists from all over Europe and rightly so.
Annecy is an alpine town in the Rhone-Alps region in Southeastern France, where the river Thiou meets Lac d'Annecy on its' northern tip. It is 22 miles south of Geneva. It is known for its Vieille Ville, or old town, with cobbled streets, winding canals and pastel-painted houses swathed in geraniums. Overlooking the city, the mediaeval turreted Chateau d'Annecy, once home to the counts of Geneva, now contains a museum.
The lake is brilliantly turquoise, overlooked by wooded mountains. With such a breathtaking backdrop it is hardly surprising that everyone seems to be outdoors - sitting in pavement cafes, mountain-gazing along the lake shore, swimming in the lake or cycling around it.
We woke on our first full day to glorious sunshine and what promised to be a lovely day. I shuffled off to get some baguettes and we enjoyed a lovely breakfast of French bread, meats and cheeses outside in the morning sunshine.
We had decided to go into Annecy to explore the mediaeval streets and waterways that make up the historic old town area. We had two options for transport. A short walk back to the main road to the bus stop where buses went hourly into Annecy of hire a bike from the campsite and use the traffic free cycle path that goes all around the lake. Unfortunately, we had left it a little too late to hire a bike that day so we set off for the bus stop. If we had been staying for longer than three nights in this region we would have bought our bikes with us because the opportunities for cycling are great and it is clearly very popular. As well as the cycle path around the lake there are many trails up in the hills and forest areas to explore.
The bus took us on the 15 minute journey into the old town of Annecy. It turned out to be market day so the little cobbled streets were even busier than usual, crammed with stalls selling fresh produce, cheeses, meats, fresh seafood, artisan breads, that looked amazing.
The old town is full of lovely little shops and restaurants, all with outdoor seating, protected from the fierce sun by colourful umbrellas and canopies. We had wonderful savoury crepes for lunch at one of these pavement cafes.
We managed to spend the whole day wondering round, dipping in and out of shops, exploring the waterfront area and eating wonderful French ice creams. The lake was busy with boat trips, small pleasure boats, swimmers, paddle boarders, windsurfers and little sailing dinghies. We could have spent hours just sitting watching all of the activity.
After a hot day exploring, we happily boarded the bus and went back to the campsite for a cooling swim in the lake before a BBQ, too much wine, some rather competitive rounds of 'Grab a Pig' and bed!
What a difference a day makes.......!
We woke the following morning to some very unwelcome and heavy rain. A quick chat with the campsite staff confirmed that it was likely to stay for most of the day. Not too surprisingly, that meant that there were some bikes available to hire. Somewhat more surprising was the fact that my lovely husband decided to hire them! So that is how we found ourselves a little while later pedalling along a fairly deserted cycle path through puddles with rain plastering our hair to our heads and thinking that there must be other ways to pass the time on wet days!
The cycle path really does hug the lake shore and it is almost entirely flat which is great if you lack any physical fitness or stamina. The views all along are wonderful and there are lots of little cafes to stop at if you need re-fuelling. It was about 6 miles from the campsite to the centre of Annecy. I can't pretend that it wouldn't have been nicer in the sunshine but I have to say that we all really enjoyed our very wet ride.
By the time we reached the town the rain had eased and we spent a few hours wandering the streets again. With the market gone the town had a completely different feel to it too. It rained on and off while we were there but, as we set off to cycle back the heavens really did open and the journey home was something of a feat of endurance. Nothing that a mug of hot chocolate couldn't put right though!
We liked Annecy and the immediate area and wished we were staying a bit longer. It has certainly left us feeling that we may visit this beautiful region of France again one day.
