My Year in Lyon: France: Annecy

One sunny Saturday in October, I went to the small city of Annecy (pop. 51,000) in Haute Savoie (Savoy), 30 minutes from Geneva. I drove up with a bunch of exchange students (some of the German students drove to Lyon from Germany), which works out to be cheaper than the train, even though it cost 13€ each way to drive on the highway! Pretty much all highways in France are toll-ways – a friend told me it would cost him about 30€ just to get to the German border.

Driving through a tunnel under the Alps.

Savoy used to be its own kingdom, until 1860. The city is located on the shores of Lac Annecy, and is surrounded by the snow-capped Alps. This is known as one of the most charming towns in the Alps, and for good reason!

Lake Annecy.

We explored the medieval quarter, laced with canals and picturesque bridges, like the Pont des Amours (Lovers’ Bridge).

Pont des Amours.

Carousel on the canal. There seems to be a carousel in every park and square in France!

As it was a Saturday morning, the local farmers had come into town for the weekly market. The selection was incredible – local cheese, sausages, and vegetables that all looked so good! We bought some bread and cheese and had a picnic in the quaint little park on the lakeshore. The local Savoyard specialties include Emmental cheese and Savoy sausage. Emmental is sprinkled over pasta here instead of parmesan.

Lots to choose from at the local farmers market. The prices here are more expensive than at the grocery store. I found that fruits and vegetables here are in general much less expensive than in Calgary. Many can be grown locally, or imported from nearby Spain.

Picnic by the lake.

After lunch, the weather was so fine we decided to rent paddleboats for an hour and go out on the lake. What a good idea that turned out to be! Stunning views of the city, the mountains, and plenty of sunshine! The water was incredibly clear, I could see the rocky bottom of the lake until we were pretty far out. It was actually quite warm, swimmable temperature back home. To bad I didn’t think to bring my bathingsuit, as there was a swimming beach (although none of the europeans thought it was warm enough!). As we were heading back, we ended up just outside the edge of a sailing regatta. They sailboats snuck up on us – they can move much faster than we can paddle!