Annecy

Ever since researching random cities in French class in high school, I have always wanted to visit Annecy. This mountain town is located in the Alps and is known for its lake, and canals. It’s basically the French version of Venice. This was the first stop on my first solo vacation. Another language assistant recommended I stay in an Air BNB while there. Other than visiting the lake I had no real plans.

To get there I had to take a train at 5 AM and make two more connections. Luckily trains are comfortable enough to sleep in. I arrived around 11 AM and after dropping my belongings off at my Airbnb, I decided to head for the lake and the Vieille Ville (the old town) Luckily I wasn’t too far from town so I could walk there. The Vieille Ville looked like it was part of a fairy tale, as many French towns do. It wasn’t long until I reached the lake. It was chilly and windy by the water, but it was spectacular.

Le Lac d’Annecy is at the foot of mountains and it’s water is a clear light blue green color, like turquoise colored glass. A pleasant surprise the lake had was its abundance of swans. I don’t think I have ever seen that many swans in my life. By the lake I took a leisurely walk and enjoyed the scenery. I also took lots of photos. It felt amazing to be in a place I had wanted to visit for so long. I would love to go back one day in the summer to do more activities on the lake.

After walking around I got hungry and decided on a pizza place that had a vegan option! I was surprised I found it considering I was in fondue country. The pizza wasn’t the best I’ve ever tasted, but it was still tasty and had lots of fresh veggies on top. It also paired nicely with the glass of Rosé I treated myself to. After lunch I was super full (I ate the whole pizza! Honestly, it’s not that difficult to eat an entire pizza when it doesn’t have cheese weighing it down. It was basically a salad on top of some bread).

As I was wondering around the old town I saw a sign for le Château d’Annecy, so I decided to check it out. It was a Château and a museum, that I got in for free! In Europe it is quite common to have discounts for youth under 26 years old, which is great for a traveler on a budget! I don’t remember that much about the history of the Château, but it was used during the 13th and 14th centuries. Inside there was an exhibit of paintings from the 1800s all of the mountains and the lake. My favorite part about the Château was the view. I enjoy museums, but I prefer the scenic attributes of city. After the Château, I went to another free museum, which was the Musée du Film et Animation. This was a fun little exhibition with lots of old-timey animation contraptions that guests could interact with.

After the museums I decided to head back into town and walk around some more and catch the sunset. I explored some shops and got a couple of souvenirs and stopped for a hot tea becuase it was getting colder. I didn’t end up eating dinner becuase I did not want to stay out too late becuase I had an early train the next day and I was still full from lunch. After I got my sunset pictures I headed back to the Airbnb for a good night’s sleep. I don’t mind traveling alone, but when I return here I would love to go with some friends and do lots of hiking and kayaking on the lake.

Thanks for reading! Check out my vlog to see more of Annecy!

– Camden

P.S. Click on the graphic below to save this travel idea on Pinterest!