Annecy is situated on a large Alpine lake in Haute-Savoie, with an old town built along the canals and mountains on every side. Here's how to spend a whole summer's day – from the old town in the morning to dinner by the water.
In this story · 6 sections
Annecy in Haute-Savoie is one of the few towns in the Alps that is as much a summer destination as a winter one. The town lies at the northern end of Lac d'Annecy, and the River Thiou flows out of the lake and through the old town in narrow canals, lined with pastel-coloured houses with window boxes. Around the lake the mountains rise up, and on a clear day you can look up towards the ski resorts of the Aravis.
Since 1 January 2017, Annecy has been a commune nouvelle, merged with Annecy-le-Vieux, Cran-Gevrier and Seynod, among others, and according to VERA PI, 131,272 people live here. The old town is still small enough to walk around in a morning. Here is our plan for a whole summer's day. The housing market can be found on VERA PI's page about Annecy.
The day at a glance
- 8.30am
- Palais de l'Île and the old town
- 10am
- Château d'Annecy
- Noon
- Jardins de l'Europe and Pont des Amours
- 2pm
- Cycling along the lake or the boat to Talloires
- 8pm
- Dinner by the lake
018.30am: the old town before it wakes
Start early, before the day-trippers arrive. Walk along the Thiou to the Palais de l'Île, the small 12th-century stone building on an island in the middle of the river, which was long used as a prison. In the morning light, with the water still around it, it is Annecy's most photographed view.
Continue through the lanes of the old town, with arcaded streets, small squares and churches. François de Sales, bishop and saint, served at Saint-Pierre Cathedral, and it was in Annecy that Jean-Jacques Rousseau met Madame de Warens. The old town also has a food market a few mornings a week, with cheese, sausage and fruit from Savoie.
0210am: the castle and the view
Walk up to the Château d'Annecy, the castle above the old town that was home to the Counts of Geneva and later to a branch of the House of Savoy. Today it is a museum, and from the courtyard you can look out over the rooftops and the lake. It is a short walk up, and it gives a good sense of how the town has grown along the water.
03Noon: lunch and the Jardins de l'Europe
Down by the lake lie the Jardins de l'Europe, the park between the canals and the water, and the little Pont des Amours. This is where the walk along the lake begins, and where the boats leave from the quays. Have lunch nearby, ideally something with fish from the lake or cheese from the mountains, and choose a table in the shade.
042pm: bike or boat to Talloires
In the afternoon you have two options. One is to hire a bike and follow the car-free cycle path along the lake's western shore, flat and shaded, with swimming spots along the way. The other is to take the boat out onto the lake. The boats stop at several villages along the shores, among them Talloires on the eastern side, with its harbour beneath the mountains and views over the narrowest part of the lake.
On the way you can see the Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard, the castle with pointed towers above the village of Menthon. Swimming is one of the great joys of summer here: the lake is clear and has several public beaches and bathing spots.
058pm: dinner by the lake
Lake Annecy has more Michelin stars than most ski resorts. Le Clos des Sens in Annecy has three stars. Four restaurants have two: Jean Sulpice at the Auberge du Père Bise in Talloires, L'Auberge de Montmin, La Table de Yoann Conte at La Maison Bleue in Veyrier-du-Lac, and Maison Benoît Vidal in Annecy. Le Sketch and La Rotonde des Trésoms have one star each. The information is taken from the Guide Michelin's listings as of 25 October 2026.
Book well in advance for July and August, and ask for a table on the terrace. A summer evening by the lake, with the mountains darkening against the sky, is the reason many people come back.
06Annecy according to VERA PI
Annecy is a town of year-round residents, not a holiday resort: only 7 per cent of its homes are second homes. According to VERA PI, 10,948 homes were sold from January 2021 to June 2026, at a median of 5,087 euros per square metre for flats and 6,048 euros for villas and houses. By the lake, things look different. In Talloires-Montmin, 38 per cent of homes are second homes, and villas have a median of 7,410 euros per square metre – see VERA PI's page on Talloires-Montmin.
More destinations can be found among metromode.co's destinations, and with Metro Mode Camera you get the history of the houses along the canals.
