Lake Annecy sits in the foothills of the beautiful Aravis massif mountain range at an altitude of 447m and is probably the most well known of the French lakes. Its main town of Annecy is very pretty with historic buildings lining the canal footpaths and is the sixth largest town in the Rhône-Alpes region.

Full of cafes and restaurants flanking the canals, you could think of being in Venice. In fact, there is lots of Italian influence in Annecy as just like the whole of the Savoie region, Annecy belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, and the laid back nature of the Italian way of life has rubbed off on the locals over the generations.

A few minutes walk from the old town of Annecy towards the lake, there is a wonderful grassy park with various lakeside restaurants and bars where people chill out, sunbathe and watch the world go by and during the summer, there is normally a fair and street performers. Its also the main area for hiring pedalos or motorised boats for cruising around the lake.

The eastern shore is known as Annecy's Côte d'Azur with its lakeside villas, formal country-house hotels and well-heeled clientele. The main village here is Talloires and is well worth an evening out.

Summer holidays - things to see and do

Lake annecy is teeming with historic villages, museums and places to see for the whole family. There are numerous white sandy beaches around the lake and with the water temperature during the summer hovering around 24°C, swimming and watersports at les Marquisatsare pleasure port are popular.

If you enjoy cycling, there are 30kms of track on the west bank used by more than 4,000 bikes a day and takes you along the lake shores and through spectacular countryside. Other top things to see and do...

• Take a scenic boat steamer ride and tour the lake
• Hike to the Angon waterfall
• Visit the interesting shops in Little Venice
• Visit the Bauges Mountains Regional Nature Park

Lake Annecy winter holidays

As well as a major summer destination, Lake Annecy is a popular twin-centre holiday resort for people who enjoy the lakes but also want like the thrills of downhill skiing.

There are 4 ski resorts within a 40 minute drive of the lake that mainly cater for all levels of skier and boarder. Togther, there are 246km of pistes and 170km of groomed cross-country trails to explore.

A little further away and around an hours drive is the wonderful and chic resort of Megeve in the Evasion Mont Blanc carousel with a massive 445km of linked pistes.

Distance from Annecy