Annecy

Annecy lies about forty kilometres south of Geneva, under an hour by road, which makes it the nearest of the French Alpine lakes for a traveller based in Switzerland. It is chosen for light, water and food: a medieval old town on canals, a lake ringed by mountains, and a small group of chef-led houses on the shore at Talloires and Veyrier-du-Lac.

The old town of Annecy grew along the Thiou, the short river that drains the lake, and its canals, arcaded streets and flower-hung bridges are overlooked by the castle of the Counts of Geneva. The Palais de l’Isle, a twelfth-century building on an island in the canal, is the town’s emblem. Annecy was for a time the seat of the exiled bishops of Geneva after the Reformation, and its churches and convents date from that period.

Lake Annecy stretches for about fourteen kilometres to the south-east, its water famously clear. On the eastern shore, Veyrier-du-Lac, Menthon-Saint-Bernard, with its turreted castle, and Talloires follow one another below the mountains; the Col de la Forclaz above is a launch point for paragliders. A cycle path follows the western shore, and the ski villages of La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand are under an hour away.

Summer is the lake’s season: swimming from the beaches and pontoons, boats on the water and long evenings on the terraces. June brings the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, founded in 1960, and August the Fête du Lac with its fireworks over the water. The town is busy in July and August, and the lakeside houses are at their fullest.

Late spring and September are quieter and often clearer, the best time for walking above the lake and for the tables of the region. In October, the return of the herds from the mountain pastures is celebrated in the old town. Winter brings skiing in the Aravis, while several of the lakeside hotels close for part of the season.

Annecy’s finest stays are small houses built around celebrated kitchens. On the shore at Talloires, the Auberge du Père Bise, run by Jean Sulpice and his wife Magali, has rooms and suites by the water and a restaurant with two Michelin stars. At Veyrier-du-Lac, Yoann Conte’s house combines a two-star restaurant with rooms facing the lake. Above the town at Annecy-le-Vieux, Le Clos des Sens, now led by Franck Derouet and Thomas Lorival, has eleven rooms and a restaurant with three Michelin stars.

LVXE books all three through Relais & Châteaux Preferred Partner — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay. For other hotels in the town and around the lake, LVXE advises on the stay and arranges it directly with the hotel. Rooms in these houses are few, so summer weekends and the weeks of the film festival are best reserved early, and a table should be booked with the room.