Lake Annecy & Pont des Amours

Lake Annecy

After wandering around the farmers market, we finally made our way through Annecy Old Town to Lake Annecy or Lac d’Annecy as it’s known in France. I honestly couldn’t get over the colour of the water in the lake and the river and how amazingly clear it was. I mean, you see it in other people’s photos, but actually seeing it in real life with your own eyes is completely different. I’m pretty sure Shane got sick of hearing me say how amazed by it I was by the end of the week hah!

Boat Tour

The first day we were there, we took a boat trip around the lake. I really wanted to hire our own little speed boat, but it was €60 for an hour, so we decided to just go on a big tour boat instead for 1/3 of the price. There’s only a couple of companies in Annecy for boat trips, but we chose this one that had a 2 hour tour instead of just an hour.

We decided to go on the 2 hour trip as it was the only one that stopped off at the different points, but also the only one that went right down to the other end of the lake. The others only went 3/4 of the way down and didn’t stop. I wish we’d have had a little more time, because I’d have loved to got  off and explored Tallories as our airbnb host recommended it and it did look really nice while we were docked there for a couple minutes, but the next boat to continue round and back to Annecy would have been 2 hours later, so we just couldn’t fit it in.

Sunset at Lake Annecy was my absolute favourite time! Even though if you’re in Annecy, the sun doesn’t set over the lake, it still creates an amazing glow over the mountains in the distance and the lake and it’s absolutely stunning. Evenings were our favourite time to take a little walk along the lakeside, grab a bench and just sit and people watch for a while. The benches by Pont des Amours gave the best view down the length of the lake! It was probably one of my favourite views from Annecy!

I loved watching all the people out on the lake! In the UK (where we live anyway), we can’t just go to a local lake and go for a swim, or kayak or whatever. It’s so strict. So to see people just jumping into the lake, going for a little evening swim and then hopping out was amazing! There were paddleboarders, kayakers, swimmers, boaters, water skiiers and the list could go on! I loved it!

Pont des Amours

Pont des Amours connects Lake Annecy to the Vasse Canal. On one side are the Gardens of Europe, which is a lovely little place to explore, though it’s mostly just huge trees and grassy areas, and on the other side is new town Annecy (and my favourite place to see the views of the lake).

The first bridge there was built in the 1800’s and the current one was built in 1906 to allow boats to pass through to the lake. I loved the little boats lining the canal – so pretty. I think my favourite time there was sunset, as the sun set through the back of the trees. It’s said that two lovers who kiss in the middle of the bridge will be together forever.

The lake was definitely one of my favourite parts about visiting Annecy. I really wanted to try paddleboarding, but we just didn’t have any time. Shane has plans to return once our campervan is finished as we saw a lovely little campsite right on the lake on the boat trip, and he’s planning on bringing a kayak with him too!

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