When I was doing research on where I want to go on our two week France trip, I stumbled upon a list about little villages in France that you don’t want to miss. On that list, was a little town in the French Alps called Annecy that captured my attention right away. It was described as the “Venice of the Alps” and was surrounded by little canals but the most beautiful part was the lake that the town was sitting on. The pictures of this lake were so breathtaking, I told my husband that this is my one request for the trip (we both do our research and then pick cities to visit when we travel) so we figured out the best way to get there from Paris and set aside two days on our itinerary for Annecy.

We had an absolutely amazing time while we were there. Arguably, our favorite day of the whole trip took place in Annecy. Today, I’m going to be sharing what there is to see in this beautiful little town and how we spent our time there.

Lake Annecy

The best part of this little town is this breathtaking lake that the town essentially sits on. The lake is the most gorgeous blue color, completely clear, surrounded by mountains (the Alps) and trees. It’s absolutely beautiful and will definitely be something you remember for the rest of your life. Our second day in Annecy, we rented a paddle boat and spent two hours on the lake. We went early in the morning when there was no one else out, took our music with us and just hung out on our boat in the middle of the lake. My husband was brave enough to take a dip into the frigid cold water while I sunbathed. It was probably the best day we had on our trip. I don’t know when I’ll get to just hang out with my husband on a beautiful day, in the middle of a beautiful lake like that again. It was very special. I highly recommend taking a boat out if you’re in Annecy.

We also spent quite a bit of time just walking around the lake. There is a beach on the side of the lake that is a little further away from Old Town. There is a part with grass where you can lay down your towels and hang out and then there’s also a part where you can get in the water but it’s so shallow for so long, you can’t really swim. You’re basically just wading. It’s a dog’s heaven in that part of the lake. Annecy was actually a very dog friendly town. It seemed like every other person we saw was walking around with a pup and those dogs are so happy there. I mean, they have access to a lake whenever they want and the temps don’t get too hot.

There is a sandy beach as well if you keep going further away from town so you have multiple options for swimming. The water is pretty cold so just a heads up for those who aren’t brave enough to get into cold water and prefer something a bit warmer.

Old Town

This is the place that’ll make you understand why Annecy is sometimes referred to as “Venice of the French Alps”. Old Town is maze of canals and little colorful buildings that will definitely remind you of Venice. There are little cafes and shops all around, along with some churches. There are bikes everywhere as well, that create an even more picturesque aesthetic for the whole town. The town is not very big so a few hours walking around and you’ll see the whole place. There is live music quite frequently on the main bridge that is by the “entrance” of Old Town from the Lake and there’s “ice cream” shops all around as well with delicious gelato.

One of our favorite breakfasts during our trip in France took place on a morning in Annecy at a smoothie bowl place called “Nyce Bowls”. If you’re in the area for breakfast, you can find them in Old Town, close to the bridge I mentioned before with a view of the canal. I would highly recommend stopping by.

Other Attractions

There is an Animation Museum along with a few other attractions in Annecy that we didn’t get to see due to lack of time. If we were there longer, we would have loved to go to the Museum which is on top of a hill in the middle of Old Town. We also would have spent more time walking around the lake since we didn’t get to go as far as we would have liked. We stayed at Privilodges Le Royal Annecy which was in a perfect location as we were a 5 minute walk from both Old Town and the lake.

Annecy is a quiet town as there’s not too many tourists which is a breath of fresh air coming from Paris. It’s nice to have a few days somewhere quiet and you can’t beat the views of the Lake. Annecy might now be in my top 5 places I’ve ever visited and will always hold a special place in my heart.

If you have any questions about Annecy, don’t hesitate to comment down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

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