Lake Annecy, France

When I was looking for day trips from Lyon, a friend suggested Annecy. I had only a vague sense of it, somewhere near the Alps, somewhere picturesque. It didn’t take long to realise that Lake Annecy is definitely worth a trip in its own right.

Annecy sits on the edge of Lake Annecy, often described as one of the cleanest lakes in Europe. The water has an almost unreal clarity, a pale, glacial blue that seems to hold the light differently. It gives the whole town a kind of freshness.

We began with a slow walk through the old town. Canals wind through it and the pastel buildings, flower-lined bridges and the arcaded streets are very striking. I found myself stopping constantly, camera in hand, trying to catch small details.

From there, we drifted out towards the lake itself, walking along its edges as the trees shifted into autumn. There was a softness to everything, the colours just beginning to turn and the air cool. The Alps rise around the lake in the distance.

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You can’t really come to this part of France and avoid fondue, or at least we couldn’t. My partner calls it fittingly “white people hotpot”. This was my first proper introduction to it, and there is something undeniably comforting about it. Bread, cheese, wine, heat. It is deeply satisfying, if also overwhelmingly rich. By the end, some exercise was needed.

Fortunately, the weather held. Late October can be unpredictable, but we had clear skies and bright sunlight. We rented bikes and set off along part of the lake’s cycle path, which runs for miles and is very well maintained. Cycling felt like the best way to understand the scale of the place. The town recedes quickly, replaced by open stretches of water, small harbours and quiet villages. Annecy exceeded my expectations thoroughly.