Annecy in the French Alps

[Pauline]

We are spending the first three weeks of September in the Swiss and French Alps near Geneva. I have two weeks booked in Lenk, in the Swiss Alps north of Lake Geneva (near Gstaad and Saanen).

For the third week I was looking at Samoens in the French Alps, south of Lake Geneva, north of Chamonix, but I think it might be a little out of season there by the third week of September. One of the main resorts closes the first week of September and the mountain rides close then to. Lenk and the mountain towns in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland have a longer season. Everything shuts down mid-October.

Now I am looking at vacation rentals in Annecy, a city with population 120,000 on the northern tip of Lake Annecy. We have not been to this area. From here we could drive into the Alps to do some hiking in different areas. It looks like there is an old town and a new town for Annecy. Most of the vacation rentals on HomeAway are in apartment buildings - which will be a shock after two weeks in a chalet up in the hills above Lenk. But, maybe it will be fun to be in a city. I am thinking it will be like Nice, but half the size and with mountains and a lake instead of the Mediterranean?

Has anyone here been to Annecy? Any opinions on this plan?

 

[jonathan]

We've been there (you won't be surprised to hear!), but only for an overnight stop on one of our road trips.

The centre is very picturesque - I'm sure you've seen all those photos of the canals, old buildings and pots of geraniums as far as the eye can see. I'm not sure I'd see any real similarity with Nice - it's not very southern in feel, and certainly doesn't have any Italianate atmosphere about it.

Parigi is a definite Annecy fan - let's hope she sees this thread, because she's been there quite a few times, I think.

 

[Parigi]

Ahh oui. I heart Annecy. Not only a beautiful town, but also a great base. There are many beautiful villages right on the lake. There is also a very well-executed piste cyclable - bicycle lane that goes around the lake. What not to like.

For day trips, besides the other lakeside villages, we also like to go to Lake Geneva, which is less than an hour's drive away. We like to go to the lakeside village of Nernier and have a lunch of fresh lake perch.

I have always stayed in the old town. It does not feel like a city at all. (But, yes, my idea of a city is Tokyo or Hong Kong, so, Annecy, no.) Every thing is very compact.

I have one rental earmarked, for the well equipped interior, its great location in the old town and its reasonable price:
http://www.abritel.fr/location-vacances/p686275

One problem that I see for you, Pauline, is that the cuisine, very rich, served in quite a few of the authentic fermes-auberges in the Alps near the lake, are very much meat-focused. I must say the fresh charcuteries around here are ace.
Pauline, you can make use of the excellent Annecy markets:
http://www.annecy-town.com/annecy/the-markets-of-annecy/

Another problem, for all visitors, is the traffic. The traffic jam is appalling. Plus, its public transport is pathetic for a French town. Most French towns have a well-run bus system, not here.

But Annecy's charm outweighs its minor drawbacks by a whole whole lot. It is a place where I love to return.

 

[Pauline]

Thanks for the information Parigi! I have heard about the traffic problems and admit I have stayed away in summer because of that. And thanks for the link - I am still searching for a nice vacation rental.

I never count on being able to eat in restaurants in France (except in Paris, where they have good vegetarian restaurants and vegetarian options on many menus) - we always do most of our own cooking. But Steve may be interested in the local fish!

 

[jonathan]

Hmmm, the decor of that abritel place is very, erm, French... And a dog appears to have fallen asleep on the bed.

 

[Chris]

I looked a long time to see if that were a sleeping dog, or perhaps a dead dog.

 

[Pauline]

That caught my eye too. I thought it was an animal skin throw?

 

[Chris]

I think it was. It just looked ... suspect.

 

[JeriF.]

FWIW, I spent a lot of time looking at rentals in Annecy, where we'll be spending the first week of September. In the end, we decided not to stay in Annecy proper, because I'm sensitive to noise at night and thought we would be more vulnerable to street disturbances (I know, strange from someone who lives in Manhattan, but the truth is I use a white noise machine); we also like to get away from the crowds sometimes. So we're staying instead in a b&b in Menthon and will (fingers crossed) drive into Annecy a couple of times and use a parking garage on the outskirts of the old city and then walk.

 

[Pauline]

We will miss you by two weeks Jeri! I was thinking that too, that I might look outside Annecy.

 

[Pauline]

A friend sent me the link to this article CN Traveler:

The French Lake District

Annecy does have a link with Italy, like Nice: "Like the whole of the Savoie region, Annecy belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia (previously the Duchy of Savoy) until 1860, and its Italianate past is still evident in a certain dolce vita charm ..."

 

[jonathan]

Yes, I remember reading that phrase about 'dolce vita charm' on another (different) site about Annecy. I must say that Annecy didn't strike us that way at all, whatever its historic connections with Savoy.

I do like Annecy (and Italy, of course), but I really don't see many similarities. Parigi, you know both Annecy and Nice a lot better that I do - what do you think?

 

[Pauline]

Endless looking at vacation rentals in Annecy and the surrounding villages. Endless reading about the area. Finally - a decision made. I booked a chalet apartment in Samoens, the place we wanted to go at first but rejected because we were worried it was too late in the season.

We booked an apartment in a chalet complex in the center of Samoens, through Alps Accommodation (who I found via Homeaway). There seems to be a lot of hiking in this area. The nearby Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval is hiking area. There are several villages in this valley and Samoens in the largest. The closest larger town is Cluses.

We will do a day trip to Annecy. The reason we decided to not stay there is that it is too much of a city for this trip. We want to be in France for that last week of the trip, but we still want to main do walking/hiking.

Such a feeling of relief to have this booked!

We fly Heathrow to Geneva, pick up a car, spend on night in Montreux. Then two weeks in Lenk, a village in the Swiss Alps near Gstaad (we know this area well). Then a 3 hour drive to Samoens and a week there. Fly home from Geneva.

 

[JeriF.]

So, because you're ending up to Samoens, you will still have to deal with the business of crossing the border and paying for the decal that allows you to ride on the Swiss autoroute? I've spent hours figuring out the route from the Geneva airport that will allow me to circumvent the 40 euro cost (which is probably stupid in the grand scheme of things). Doing this with jet lag after a flight from JFK to CDG, a layover, and then a quick flight to Geneva has me already imaging that we'll end up in Bulgaria or something.

Samoens certainly does look like a spectacular place.

 

[Pauline]

We are renting a car at the Geneva airport on the Swiss side and they always come with the decal. We are in Switzerland for the first 2 weeks of the trip.

One year we rented a car in Switzerland, but it had Italian plates and we did not check for the autoroute sticker. Well, it did not have one and we were pulled over by police a couple of days later, in Switzerland, and had to pay a fine. I can't remember if we then had to purchase a decal - probably.

 

[Pauline]

After I had booked and paid for the Samoens apartment, I remembered to ask about air fresheners, only to find out that the apartment has those sticks in scented oil things and scented drawers! The agency was very understanding and offered us a few other choices. Apparently the one we booked is the only one that has these scented things. (We both react to the chemicals used in air fresheners.)

So now we are staying in Apartment Moccand, a top floor apartment in a building with two apartments, a couple of blocks from the town center.

I am such an idiot for not asking (I usually do), but thank goodness we booked through an agency that could offer us other places instead.

 

[Wendy Ashworth]

Hi Folks,
Great to read this thread as we are trying to book a trip from the UK by car culminating with a week in or around
Annecy for the first week in September.
It's very tricky to find " sensible " accommodation still, i.e. we don't want to spend 5k nor do we want a cramped Studio.
We intend to take a week to drive down and a week to come home.
Any further insights welcomed !

 

[Pauline]

Hi Wendy! If you are going in August, we will be in Lenk, Switzerland. Not so far!

We did a day trip to Annecy and I didn't love it. It was a bigger city than I had thought. We were considering staying there and people talked about staying in other towns on the lake.

Don't forget to check Airbnb. A lot of people are using it now.

 

[Wendy Ashworth]

Hi Pauline,
Thanks for reply. You were up late.
It would be funny to meet in Switzerland when you are not far away from us in the UK !
We often thought of going to Lake Annecy when we were in Vevey for all those lovely holidays but never made it.
We will investigate the lakeside villages I think but I can't bring myself to use Air B nB.

 

[Roz]

Hi Wendy,
Excuse me for interrupting your thread on Annecy, but I think you must be the person who used to be wendyash on SlowTrav. Is that right? I just wanted to say hi, and I'm glad to see you on Slow Europe. I remember some wonderful advice I got from you years ago about traveling in France, but I think you weren't around much on SlowTrav in recent years (before it disintegrated, that is). Hope to see more of you here.
- Roz