I can not say that I have one favourite city, but if you will ask me what are top 3 cities I suggest you to visit, Annecy for sure will be on the list.
I will not mention the facts that are easy to find on the Internet, but will try to show you the trip through my eyes.
Just one little remark, to locate you- Annecy is situated in Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, just 40 km away from Geneva.
Annecy definitely is the city that you can easily fall in love with from the very first sight. Water, mountains, picturesque old town - Annecy has it all.
This city truly has a very unique, elegant, sophisticated and relaxed atmosphere.
The walk through the old town will make you feel like in a fairy tale. There are many nice and cosy restaurants and small cafes with a fantastic view situated on both banks of the Canal du Thiou.
When passing through the narrow streets of old town you will see markets and little shops selling a large variety of incredibly tasty cheese, meat and other traditional delicatessen.
Due to the clear water flows from the lake into the canals running through the "old town" - Annecy is usually called the French Venice, but from my point of view this is the only thing that is similar between these two completely different cities, first of all different with the atmosphere and attitude.
Palais de l’Isle built in the 12th century and situated on a small island surrounded by Canal du Thiou is the most visible landmark of the city, you will see it on the advertisements, postcards and of course if you will google Annecy.
After a walk by the banks of the Canal du Thiou, having lunch in one of the cosy restaurants, and wondering why nobody speaks English, buy some souvenirs, that will in the future remind you of this beautiful city. Then through the shopping street, oh well it's not so easy to pass this shopping street quickly, especially when it's sale period, so after you finish your shopping, hope it's still daylight - head to the bank of the Annecy lake - it is known as Europe's cleanest lake.
If the weather is nice- boat ride and swimming is a must.
The lakes in Rhône-Alpes
region are truly beautiful, clean water, boats and yachts, where families are having lunch in the middle of the lake surrounded by the mountains.
And now sit back, relax and take photos of the picturesque views from one of benches on Annecy lake embankment while enjoying your espresso, coffee Latte or ice cream and planning how will you spend further days of your vacation in Rhône-Alpes
region.
This combination of scenic mountains, pure lake, fresh air and fairy tale like old town will let you miss this place the moment you will enter the train to another beautiful town of this region at the Annecy train station.
During my one week stay in Rhône-Alpes region, I visited Annecy twice.
But I will make a little step back and tell in few a words how I decided to visit this fantastic place, actually how I had not decided :)
Few years ago I was visiting Rhône-Alpes region, staying in Aix-les-Bains for a week in the middle of July and actually Annecy was not among the cities I was planning to visit, probably just because previously I had never heard how wonderful Annecy is, actually I had never previously heard about Annecy at all.
But during my visit to Aix-les-Bains thermes, one lady, actually the only person who could communicate in one of the languages I can in Aix-les-Bains thermes, after realizing that her home town Annecy is not on my list, strongly recommended me to visit this city.
So I had completely no expectations from the city and may be it played the role. That is one of the reasons I like to travel to "hidden gems", as you usually have no expectations, and I can say it's definitely good, because when you plan your trip to London, Paris or Rome, you already have expectations, sometimes very high expectations based on what you have seen in movies or from your friends photos and stories from their previous vacations.
Not to get lost:
map of the Lake Annecy
map of Annecy
360 degree panorama
How to get there: the easiest way is to fly to Geneva International airport - the closest International airport to Annecy
for example Riga-Helsinki-Geneva with Finnair with a smooth connection in Helsinki Vantaa airport, return flight will cost you starting from 198 EUR, that is a very reasonable price for non low-cost airline.
from Geneva the cheapest way you can reach Annecy is using a bus - return ticket will cost you 21 EUR or using a more expensive solution- train (you will have to change a train in Aix-les-Bains, by the way a very beautiful city- will definitely write a post about it).
What to do: walk, taste local cuisine and delicatessen, take a boat ride, swim or ride a bike on the Annecy lake embankment and do not forget to take pictures - the views are simply incredible here
Where to stay: it depends on what you want to see during your stay, for exploring Rhône-Alpes region, including Lion and Grenoble, my suggestion is one of the lovely Aix les Bains town hotels, one more lovely city situated on the bank of the Lac du Bourget with smooth train connections
Problems: practically nobody speaks English, NO-BO-DY, and this can be kind of a problem, or at least kind of fun :) In the restaurant when our company ordered lemon tea we received a tea without a tea bag, so just hot water and lemon, during the same dinner instead of delicious cheese fondue, by the way very popular in this region, a pan on fire with water and a bit of olive oil and a variety of meat and vegetables, that we had to prepare on our own was served, same problems at the hotel and actually everywhere, so learn some French before you go.
I hope you enjoyed a little virtual tour to one of the pearls of Rhône-Alpes region.
Wish you to visit this place some day, it is truly worth it!
Julija
I will not mention the facts that are easy to find on the Internet, but will try to show you the trip through my eyes.
Just one little remark, to locate you- Annecy is situated in Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, just 40 km away from Geneva.
After a walk by the banks of the Canal du Thiou, having lunch in one of the cosy restaurants, and wondering why nobody speaks English, buy some souvenirs, that will in the future remind you of this beautiful city. Then through the shopping street, oh well it's not so easy to pass this shopping street quickly, especially when it's sale period, so after you finish your shopping, hope it's still daylight - head to the bank of the Annecy lake - it is known as Europe's cleanest lake.
If the weather is nice- boat ride and swimming is a must.
This combination of scenic mountains, pure lake, fresh air and fairy tale like old town will let you miss this place the moment you will enter the train to another beautiful town of this region at the Annecy train station.
Few years ago I was visiting Rhône-Alpes region, staying in Aix-les-Bains for a week in the middle of July and actually Annecy was not among the cities I was planning to visit, probably just because previously I had never heard how wonderful Annecy is, actually I had never previously heard about Annecy at all.
But during my visit to Aix-les-Bains thermes, one lady, actually the only person who could communicate in one of the languages I can in Aix-les-Bains thermes, after realizing that her home town Annecy is not on my list, strongly recommended me to visit this city.
So I had completely no expectations from the city and may be it played the role. That is one of the reasons I like to travel to "hidden gems", as you usually have no expectations, and I can say it's definitely good, because when you plan your trip to London, Paris or Rome, you already have expectations, sometimes very high expectations based on what you have seen in movies or from your friends photos and stories from their previous vacations.
Not to get lost:
map of the Lake Annecy
map of Annecy
360 degree panorama
How to get there: the easiest way is to fly to Geneva International airport - the closest International airport to Annecy
for example Riga-Helsinki-Geneva with Finnair with a smooth connection in Helsinki Vantaa airport, return flight will cost you starting from 198 EUR, that is a very reasonable price for non low-cost airline.
from Geneva the cheapest way you can reach Annecy is using a bus - return ticket will cost you 21 EUR or using a more expensive solution- train (you will have to change a train in Aix-les-Bains, by the way a very beautiful city- will definitely write a post about it).
What to do: walk, taste local cuisine and delicatessen, take a boat ride, swim or ride a bike on the Annecy lake embankment and do not forget to take pictures - the views are simply incredible here
Where to stay: it depends on what you want to see during your stay, for exploring Rhône-Alpes region, including Lion and Grenoble, my suggestion is one of the lovely Aix les Bains town hotels, one more lovely city situated on the bank of the Lac du Bourget with smooth train connections
Problems: practically nobody speaks English, NO-BO-DY, and this can be kind of a problem, or at least kind of fun :) In the restaurant when our company ordered lemon tea we received a tea without a tea bag, so just hot water and lemon, during the same dinner instead of delicious cheese fondue, by the way very popular in this region, a pan on fire with water and a bit of olive oil and a variety of meat and vegetables, that we had to prepare on our own was served, same problems at the hotel and actually everywhere, so learn some French before you go.
I hope you enjoyed a little virtual tour to one of the pearls of Rhône-Alpes region.
Wish you to visit this place some day, it is truly worth it!
Julija
