Lac d’Annecy

Thanks to strict protection measures since the 1960s, Lac d'Annecy is regarded as one of the cleanest lakes in Europe. The picturesque old town of Annecy with its canals bears the nickname Venice of the Alps. A continuous cycling and walking path runs around the lake against the backdrop of the Savoy Pre-Alps.

Highlights

• Very clear, clean bathing water
• Old town of Annecy (Venice of the Alps)
• Lake loop for cycling and hiking
• Sailing, SUP and bathing in summer

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

Lake Annecy is regarded as one of the cleanest lakes in Europe, a reputation that is no accident but the result of an early, resolute environmental movement: in the 1960s collection channels of their own for the wastewater were built around the lake in order to save the deteriorating body of water, and since then its water has shimmered again in crystal-clear turquoise. The principal town on the shore, Annecy, carries Italian heritage within its walls, for it once belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be read to this day in the arcades of the old town and at the Palais de l'Île, a former prison island in the middle of the Thiou canal.

Above the lake thrones the Château de Menthon, in which, according to tradition, Saint Bernard of Menthon was born, that patron saint of Alpine travellers after whom the famous Saint Bernard avalanche dogs are named, which once searched for the buried at the Great St Bernard Pass. Geologically the lake is a work of the Ice Age, gouged out by glaciers and characterised by two basins of differing depth. With its bathing bays, the cycle path led around the entire shore and the steeply rising mountains all around, it embodies to this day the epitome of Savoyard summer pleasures and draws painters and those seeking relaxation alike.