Set high in the French Alps just minutes from the Swiss border, Lake Annecy is a prime destination in both summer and winter for European vacationers—but it’s often overlooked (or simply unknown) by many Americans in favor of nearby ski (and après) meccas Chamonix, Grenoble, or Geneva. The lake’s northern shore includes the city of Annecy, a bustling mini-metropolis full of high-end boutiques and dining, museums, and attractions—and through its medieval Old Town runs a series of mountain-water-fed canals, which are home to flocks of stunning white swans and lend the city its reputation as the Venice of France.
The rest of the lake shoreline is dotted with charming towns: Talloires, Duingt, and Menthon-Saint-Bernard each boast their fair share of exciting shops, boulangeries, and cafés to choose from. And those mountains that stretch into the sky, surrounding the area? They offer plenty of opportunities for action and adventure. Here’s how to explore Lake Annecy, France, in ski season.
Getting to Lake Annecy
Despite its remote location, accessing Lake Annecy is actually quite simple: It’s less than an hour from Geneva, where you can fly direct from most major American airports. Once you’ve cleared customs, you can easily take a train from the airport to downtown Annecy. You can also take the high-speed TGV INOUI train from Paris, which will get you to Annecy in just under four hours for less than €60 (at the time of writing, about $63 USD). If you’re traveling in winter and looking to ski at any of the lake’s nearby world-class ski areas, renting a car might make the most sense; the lake is about six hours by car from Paris, and four-and-a-half hours from Milan.
Once you’re settled, the city of Annecy, at the northwestern mouth of the lake, is easy enough to explore by foot. However, trips to any of the dozen or so charming lakeside towns and villages are better undertaken via car or local bus. Weather permitting, renting a bicycle and enjoying the 26-mile, mostly protected, and almost wholly flat bike path that skirts along Lake Annecy’s shores as it winds through all of the lakeside towns is a stunning way to enjoy the area, even in winter. Though it can be far more crowded in the warmer months, locals and tourists alike utilize the greenway year-round.
Where to eat
From no frills boulangeries and roadside cafés to the finest white-tablecloth experiences, Lake Annecy’s gastronomic scene offers a spectrum of dining choices. Perhaps the area’s most renowned restaurant is the three-Michelin-star Le Clos des Sens, nestled in the more residential corner of Annecy-le-Vieux and offering hyperlocal cuisine that spotlights ingredients coming from the lake, the restaurant’s own garden, and handful of locavore sources within a hundred kilometers (62 miles) of the restaurant. The menu features an aged, grilled pike, and a raw fera (another lake fish) with fermented garum. Clos des Sens also offers a unique “food and jus” pairing, which combines dishes with different broths, stocks, and herbal teas all of which are perfect for chilly winter evenings.