Annecy

Annecy turned out to be a lovely town. It seemed to have just about everything – a river, canal, lake, castle, parks, beaches, historic town centre, beautiful churches.

One day we went on a boat cruise around the lake. As it was after our trips to the Resistance memorial sites so we were aware how the castle had been used as an arsenal during World War 2. From the lake you can see just how the castle stands over the town, is surrounded by the town. I couldn’t help thinking if that place had ever been bombed, what devastation it would have caused to the town & its people living below.

The castle high behind the town seen from the lake

The other building dominating the skyline above Annecy is the Basilique de la Visitation. This church was built between 1922 & 1930 & is dedicated to Francis de Sales & Jane de Chantal. The lives of these two people were gloriously illustrated in the windows, Francis on the north side, Jane on the right.

The Basilique de la Visitation

Francis de Sales

Jane de Chantal

To me Annecy is a town of colourful bridges, intriguing alleyways & corners calling to me to investigate. One shop we stopped at whenever we were in town was a charcuterie. Its windows were full of the most amazing tarts, terrines, salads etc. We found ourselves wishing we had gone self-catering. We would have happily gone there for some quick foods, salads or things that needed only a quick heating up. They looked just so mouth-wateringly delicious.

 

A bridge in the old town centre

The Canal du Vasse

The river le Thiou

In hte old town centre

Our other regular stop was a little café, the Café des Arts. Inside there were cartoons everywhere. In another room books galore. In the evening they had live music. It was always a pleasure to stop there & people watch. It seemed to be a popular meeting place for the locals – I suspect it was too hidden away for many tourists to find it!

The hint of people betweeb the narrow building that drew us in

The cafe we found within

 

All in all, Annecy has to go on my list of favourite places in France to visit, worthy of another visit some time maybe. Our only disappointment was that the cathedral seemed to be impossible to enter in a wheelchair. A pity.