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 Vieux 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 Annecy Vieux 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.

Lake Annecy accommodation

In terms of where to in Annecy, there is plenty of variety from lakeside villas, cottages and apartment holiday rentals to choose from. The main area is Annecy Vieux which is the heartbeat of the lake and full of cafes, restaurants and shops that flank the canals.

In the town, apartments are the norm but just a few minutes drive away from the centre, there are stunning traditional chalets looking on to the lake with views of the Massif Aravis mountains and lakeside villas.