ANNECY, FRANCE TRAVEL GUIDE: What to do, see, & eat in Annecy | Best day trip from Geneva!

Looking for the perfect day trip from Geneva? Just 45 minutes away, Annecy, France is known as the “Venice of the Alps” and it’s one of the most charming destinations in Europe. In this video, we’ll show you exactly what to do in Annecy on a day trip, from exploring the turquoise waters of Lake Annecy, to renting a boat, wandering the old town, visiting Chateau d’Annecy, and enjoying authentic French cuisine (cheese, anyone!?).

Whether you’re planning a quick escape from Switzerland or building an itinerary through the French Alps, Annecy is a must-see. This guide covers the best things to do in Annecy in one day, travel tips, and why it’s such an easy and unforgettable trip from Geneva.

Thank you Hotel Imperial Palace for having us! We were not payed to make this video & all opinions are our own.
→ Hotel Imperial Palace: https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/imperial-palace.en.html?aid=8039031&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2

📍 What you’ll see in this video:
– Lake Annecy boat rental & lake views
– Strolling Annecy’s Old Town canals (aka the Venice of the Alps!)
– Annecy Castle (Château d’Annecy)
– Local French food & restaurants

Travel tips for a smooth Geneva to Annecy trip

✨ Why visit Annecy, France?
– One of the most beautiful lakes in Europe
– Easy day trip from Geneva by car, bus, or train
– Perfect mix of history, culture, food, and scenery

If you’re searching for “what to do in Annecy”, planning an Annecy day trip, or just curious about Annecy, France, this video will give you everything you need for the perfect visit.

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Need more help planning?
→ Book a consultation: https://www.thetravelingswiss.com/consultation
→ Purchase our itineraries: https://www.thetravelingswiss.com/swiss-itinerary-guides

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Bienvenue & Willkommen! We are Lex & Louis – and together we are The Traveling Swiss. We’re an international couple (USA + Switzerland) who have recently moved from NYC to Switzerland. Come travel with us – we’ll give you tips and guides, and hopefully have a few laughs along the way. Our goal is to show you that borders are meant to be crossed!

Keep up with us!
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Hey guys, in this video we are not in Switzerland, but we are not too far away. We are in Anie in France. It is just over an hour away from Geneva, super accessible by train. We’re going to show you this beautiful town which is known as the Venice of the Alps. So let’s go check it out. [Music] So before we get into the video, I want to direct you to our website, the travelingswiss.com, for all kinds of other resources. Any is a great day trip, especially if you’re staying in Geneva. It’s really, really nearby, and I know a lot of you use Geneva as a base entirely for your trip. So definitely check out Anie. Right now, we’re on the Prominade. We’re going to walk about 15 minutes into the city. There’s a beautiful village known as the Venice of the Alps, and we’re going to show you why. There’s all kinds of charming canals, beautiful architecture around the river. So let’s go check that out now. So we are standing in front of the train station in NC. And the great news is you can arrive really easily by public transportation from Geneva. So you can leave from Geneva main station. It takes about an hour and a half and the tickets are 20 bucks. Once you arrive, it’s about a 5minute walk into the area of the town where there are the first canals. So you don’t need to get on any additional public transportation. You just get off at the train station right behind me. And we’ll show you where the canals and the beautiful little old town is now. So, we’ve walked about 5 minutes from the train station and now we are at the reason that the town is called the Venice of the Alps. You can see there’s all these beautiful canals flowing through the buildings of the city and leading to the beautiful Lake Ansy. So, we’re gonna go explore all of these pictures canals in the gorgeous, very charming old town of Anzie. So, this is the Perier. This is that staple view of Any. And as you can see, it’s the summer. It’s a Saturday and it’s not so crowded actually. Let’s dive a little bit from here into the cute old town of Any. So here we are at the connection between the lake just there and the canals and the old town. This is beautiful. You have amazing shots that you can take and just amazing views to enjoy. So definitely come here and go see also the paladil which is beautiful with the canals that are splitting with that nice island. And so here is the restaurant Rasin. As you can see, you have to reserve in advance. We are at Rasin and this is a restaurant that is a little bit more elevated just off the main street. So very close to the canals etc. while being totally alone here except the people from the restaurant. You’re going to eat amazing food here. So if you want something a little bit more elevated and antsy, come to Rasin but reserve in advance. [Music] So we have an amazing lunch. If you want something more traditional from here, you can also come here in the center of an eat something else than our more sort of elevated thing. There are some amazing specialties from the region from Savoir. The terti for example is very rich but really cool. So I’ll show you maybe this was actually here. Olivia we had a very nice lunch there too and you can have also some great food in Ani and so we are going to take a boat we booked online and I think it’s better to book online especially if you’re coming in the summer it might book up especially sort of afternoon so we booked online this was €21 I think for the 1 hour tour you have also 1 and 1/2 hour which is really the full tour of the lake I think Our girls are going to enjoy the 1 hour and us too. So yeah, you go then over there and this is where the boat leaves to go explore the lake and see okay if you stay. If you stay home you’re gone in the morning but I’ll be okay. And now we are going to explore the streets of the old town of Ani. There’s a lot of shops also to explore. Beautiful things to buy, but also amazing just architecture of the old town. [Music] And they sell nouga a lot here. [Music] Anytime we are in anc we absolutely have to stop at Pier. It’s an amazing from with all kinds of French cheeses, some of which are difficult to find elsewhere. You can sample some cheese and discuss your preferences before getting some to take home. And you can even check out their cheese display seller where they age some of their cheese. [Music] So, we’re actually staying at the beautiful four-star hotel Imperial Palace. We were so impressed with this hotel immediately from its destination, but the rooms are so gorgeous as well. They have a bunch of different options for room and suites. So, if you’re a family, there’s options for you. We actually had two separate bedrooms, which is really nice with the kids. They had set up the second bedroom with the crib, and even inside of it, they had left the little baby bathroes for the spa. It was really, really nice, and we felt very welcomed as a family. And of course, because of the amazing destination, there are incredible lake views. We are headed to the lake which is right here. If you want a beach next to the Imperial, you have multiple beaches close to NC and a little bit further. We are on the one a little bit further. We are a minute away from the Imperial. And you have some of the best views of the whole lake from here. And our daughter is loving it. [Music] [Music] So we are at Labraasi which is the bistronomic restaurant. So a little bit more elevated of the hotel right here. So we’re having dinner at Labbrasi which is an excellent We’ve had already a few courses restaurant by the lake beautiful view there’s some live music there as well we’ve had great entre so so just enjoying life along the lake and see [Music] so I know we showed you that this hotel isn’t Great if you have kids with you. They’re very accommodating, but it’s also great for adults, too, because there’s a casino in the hotel. Good morning from the Imperial. Very nice breakfast with a view. [Music] So, we are walking along the lake from the Imperial Palace and it takes about 15 20 minutes to go to an maybe 15 minutes and you have a beautiful view on the lake. So, let’s walk and then go explore and see. And you can pay with a credit card for a minimum of €10. So that saved us. All right, let’s go up to the castle and explore this amazing landmark. And a bit like everywhere, once you have to walk up a little bit, you get nobody around and some very charming streets [Music] at the castle. And the castle you have different exhibits. You can of course just visit for the castle itself. And there is at the end over there a very nice view on the lake. Okay, so we are right in front of the chatau density. It is €9 and is combined with the talle which is that little prison which is right in the center of the old town. So two historic experiences just €9 and it’s really nice. So, we’re going to check out the chateau now. And there’s some beautiful views. [Music] And here this is about fishing. So not just fauna but also ethnography about human practices. [Music] All right, let’s go into the paladil. This is actually combined between the castle and this one. And this is only €9 to go explore. So let’s go see what’s inside. And so this is the pale which is an island with this whole building which used to be a prison and we can go explore it. So I’m visiting the pale dil. This is that famous kind of island that you see from outside but the inside is really interesting. It used to be a prison, also a place where they would judge people. And there’s also a little chapel. So, I’m going to show you. And you can see that people were smaller or I’m tall. And uh yeah, it’s just very cool. [Music] [Music] And right next to the old town where there’s a castle on the canals, you have the beautiful lake. And we’re going to go explore it by boat. So, we are going to cool off a little bit. It’s the summer. It’s pretty hot. and we are going to take a boat on Lake Anie and have a little swim. The only thing we had some cash they can take some French credit cards but not other credit cards. So make sure that you get some cash. They took euros, Swiss Franks as well or even dollars but no foreign credit cards. So make sure to have some cash. [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] not like the Caribbean color. [Music] All right, thank you guys so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you want to watch more videos like this, subscribe to our channel below and of course, head to the travelingswiss.com for more help and resources in planning your trip. That’s it for us, guys. Thank you so much for watching. Bye, guys. Hey guys, thanks for watching. Thanks for watching. If you want to see more videos like this, please make sure to like and subscribe. We’ll see you soon.