Our four days in the beautiful Lake Annecy
We have long been in love with the alps, and Annecy had been on our radar to visit for a long time. This summer, we finally made it to Annecy as part of our French Road Trip.
We were not disappointed and fell totally in love with this gorgeous part of France.
Where we stayed
We stayed in an area called Doussard, which is a small town at the bottom of Lake Annecy, one of the largest and most attractive lakes in France.
Our campsite was right on the shore of Lake Annecy; read more about it here.
There are plenty of options for camping with campsites and holiday parks with pitches and cabins located at various points around the lake. There are also many hotels to suit different budgets in the Town of Annecy and in the pretty village of Talloires on the east side of the lake.
What we did
The Lake
Lake Annecy takes its name from the town of Annecy located on its northern shore, and it is a beautiful 9 mile long lake in the French Alps, next to the Swiss border. It’s waters are clear and cool and considered to be the clearest and cleanest lake in Europe.
We, of course, couldn’t wait to get in the water and had many lovely swims and paddles in the Lake, which had a swimming beach at Doussard right next to our campsite. If your kids are anything like ours, they can happily play all day at the waters edge.
We saw lots of families on the water in kayaks and paddleboards, and also peddle boats from Annecy (the town).
The lake itself is simply stunning to look at. The blue waters contrasting with the lush green mountains around you is heavenly.
Annecy
Annecy is a beautiful medival town with twisty lanes and narrow streets packed with tourist shops, art galleries, bistros and cafes with the clean and clear waterways cutting through the centre of the village.
Cobbled streets and stone bridges over the canal make this a very picturesque town and the perfect spot to get some stunning photographs, and to admire the medival architechture.
We found it quite busy and touristic, however this did not detract from it’s charm. We enjoyed exploring the trinket shops, we had some excellent food and enjoyed the buzz of everyone strolling around the lanes, exploring and enjoying the restaurants and bars.
There is a large park and a big green open space on the lake side just before you get to the centre Annecy, and plenty of large car parks to cope with the amount of visitors they get.
We loved taking the kids to the playgrounds in the Jardins de l’Europe (there is a playground on either side of the footbridge – Pont des Amours), which had plenty of good equipment for the kids.
This was one of the best sized and well equipped play areas we have come across in France so far, as we tend to find a lot of play areas are small and geared towards pre schoolers however this one was great with plenty of stuff for all ages.
You can also rent row boats and pedalos to take out on the lake from here, which we didn’t have time for this trip, but it looked like a lot of fun. Maybe next time!
From the playground, it is a short walk through the gardens to the centre of the historic old town of Annecy.
Tallories
Tallories is a small, very beautiful lake side village on the east side of Lake Annecy. We loved it here so much; it was very peaceful and felt calm and serene.
From the car park we walked downhill, past a few village shops and boutique hotels to the small harbour.
There were a few boats moored up and bobbing around in the most amazing coloured water – the colour changing with the light from deep blue to emerald green, and it’s impeccably clear and clean. If you walk through the sweet, painted wooden harbour shelters, you come out on to the jetty and are greeted with a sublime view of the lake and the lush green mountains.
We spent our time here eating our purchases from the boulangerie by the water (which were amazing, even for France where even the standard baked goods are incredible). We strolled around the harbour and past the historic Abbey turned hotel, past the roses and carefully tended gardens, just taking in the sights and the gorgeous views.
There isn’t anything for kids to do here apart from walk around, and get something to eat, so we didn’t stay for too long, but we are so glad we stopped here to see it. There is a spot for swimming in the lake here which sounds very nice, but we didn’t swim this time.
The walk down hill from the car park is a little on the steep side but once you are down by the lake, it’s very flat and manageable for a pushchair.
There is also a stunning public swimming beach at Talloires – can you believe that we missed it! We didn’t know about it until we returned home! In all honesty, the weather on the day we visited Talloires wasn’t the best for swimming and relaxing at the lake side beach anyway, but we are definitely going for a dip here at this beautiful beach next time we come to Lake Annecy.
Acro Adventures
We were recommended this spot by a friend who is a regular visitor to Annecy, and I’m so glad he did as the kids had a blast on this tree top adventure located in the mountains above Talloires.
There are different courses to choose from according to your skill level and age, with professional guides and instructors. They include things like zip wires, rope bridges, scramble nets, obstacle courses, and orienteering experiences. See the website for more details
Afterwards, you can enjoy the stunning views with a picnic like we did, and watch all the paragliders taking off from the edge of the cliff!
Bike riding
Lake Annecy is such a great place for getting out on the bikes. We saw loads of families and people of all ages on bikes, riding around the cycle path that takes you around the whole perimeter of the lake. It looked like great fun, so we hired a couple of e- bikes and had a go ourselves!
E- bikes are the more expensive option, but it was so enjoyable being able to glide along, whizzing down the cycle path without having to exert ourselves the way we would on a standard bike! It was great for the kids aswell, meaning we could cover more of the lake in one day as they were t getting as tired out with the e- bikes power to help them. We are now definitely e- bike converts.
There are lovely bike cafes, swimming spots, and picnic spots dotted along the route as you cycle along following the majestic Lake Annecy, and it goes without saying it is simply beautiful and gorgeous with amazing views at every turn.
The west side of the Lake has a traffic free cycle path ( however roads do cross the cycle path at some points) and once you reach Annecy (the town) the cycle path goes roadside for a few short sections on the east side. There are also more inclines/declines on the east side where it is pretty flat on the west side cycle path.
We loved our bike ride – the highlight was calling in at a bakery on route and eating lunch after a dip in the lake before heading to Annecy on the bikes again. We hired our bikes from K2 Outdoor Annecy and had good service and price. It’s definitely a must do activity in Annecy!
Travel Happy Family 
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