THE MAGIC OF ANNECY: 2 Days in France’s Most Beautiful Lakeside Town

Welcome to Annecy, France — one of the most beautiful and charming towns in the French Alps! In this video, we take you along as we explore the stunning Old Town, stroll along the canals, visit Lake Annecy’s crystal-clear shores, and drive through the most scenic villages on the west and east side of the lake. We stayed at Imperial Palace by the Lake Annecy so will show you around as well.

We also pass through Menthon-Saint-Bernard, Talloires, and stop to admire Château d’Annecy, blooming trees, local markets, and the amazing difference a week makes between winter and spring in this fairytale destination.

Whether you’re planning a trip to Annecy or just dreaming of the Alps, we hope this video inspires you or helps to plan your vacation in the area!

🌍 What You’ll See:

Annecy Old Town
Annecy Chateau and Palais de L’Isle
Imperial Palace Hotel
Lake Annecy and driving around the entire lake
Chateau de Menthon-Saint-Bernard and Le Palace du Menthon
Doussard-Bredannaz
Duingt
Sevrier
Annecy week later

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#annecy #france

0:00 Intro
1:14 – Annecy, France – The Old Town, March 27-28, 2025
6:47 – Imperial Palace Hotel, Annecy
10:41 – Lake area around Imperial Palace Hotel
13:50 – Annecy Local Market
17:22 – Menthon-Saint-Bernard and Chateau de Menthon-Saint-Bernard
18:47 – Le Palace du Menthon
20:52 – The Western side of Lake Annecy
21:36 – Doussard-Bredannaz
23:11 – Duingt
24:44 – Sevrier
26:45 – Back in Annecy – April 5, 2025
29:02 – Outro 

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[Music] This is Anacey, tucked away in the French Alps and often called the Venice of the Alps. And for good reason. It’s a place where time seems to slow down, where every cobblestone canal and cafe feels like it belongs in a painting. [Music] And then there’s Lake Anacey. Crystal clear turquoise water that is almost too perfect to believe. It’s one of the cleanest lakes in all of Europe and was formed over 18,000 years ago by large alpine glaciers. It’s a beautiful place for a variety of water activities and photo opportunities. [Music] One place you can take incredible photos is Chateau Dementhon St. Bernard, which is a castle perched high above Lake Anacey with a lot of rich history. This is just the beginning, so sit back, relax, and let’s explore Anacey together. [Music] [Music] Our journey to Anessui began in Chicago. After a flight into Geneva, we picked up a rental car at the airport and hit the road for a short scenic hour drive that brought us straight into the start of the French Alps. All right, after a long drive, we finally made it to Anace and we’re sitting here right next to the canal having a beautiful view with my first carbonara of the trip. So, I can’t wait to rate this for you guys. My mom got some pizza and then my dad got some uh pesto pasta. But yeah, this is this is the food I was waiting for and I can’t wait to indulge. [Music] Anise’s old town dates back to the Middle Ages. You’ll find 12th century architecture, canals flowing beneath stone bridges, and those iconic window boxes bursting with color from geraniums. Geraniums are typically in full bloom from late spring through fall. So, we’re walking around here at Anessi just following the canal and seeing where it takes us. Right in the middle of a canal sits the Pale Dule, a fortress turned prison that’s now been refurbished into a museum. The Pale Dule is a famous historical building located on a small island in the Tu River which separates into two canals. It was built in the 12th century and has served as a residence, mint, prison, and more. Today, it houses a small museum and is a popular tourist attraction, especially at night when it’s [Music] illuminated. So, Anessi is actually known as the Venice of the Alps, and it’s because of its Venice-like canal going through the entire town. And in the middle of the canal is the island palace that we just passed through. And over there is the Anessu Chateau. And just above the town, the Chateau Dynasty keeps watch, offering panoramic views and a peak into the rich history. The Chateau Dynasty is a restored castle which dominates the old French town of Anacey. It was bought by the town, restored, and then transformed into a museum with a lot of fine art. Its location and architecture make it a stunning attraction to see. [Music] Walking through the old town of Anacey feels like you’re stepping back into time. The narrow streets wind gently as you walk between pastel colored buildings, admiring the old architecture. The strong smell of crepes and cheese from local shops travels through the air as you walk and explore the town. [Music] [Music] Lake Anacey boat tours are one of the best ways to soak in the stunning alpine scenery and experience the lake from a unique perspective. You can choose from many different kinds of boat rides and find one that suits you the best. [Music] [Music] And after spending a couple of hours exploring the old town of Anessie, we’re heading into check into our hotel. We spent a couple of hours exploring the old town and now we’re off to the hotel to recharge because this trip is just getting started. [Music] So, we finally made it to our hotel here in Hennessy. We’re at the Imperial Palace. We’re about to check in. We’re extremely tired. And we have a spa reservation at 8:00. So, hopefully that recharges our batteries for tomorrow. Let’s go check in. [Music] This is our room for the night. We’re staying on the seventh floor of the Imperial Palace with a city view. So, yeah, not too bad. [Music] The star is for [Music] This time is for [Music] After enjoying our sunset walk by the lake, it was time to head back since we had a spa reservation at 8:00 p.m. It was a full day of traveling and it was time to relax after a very long day. [Music] There might be a lot of echo in this room, but you’re actually able to reserve the spa here for an hour at a time, and you can do even more if you really want to. It comes with the gym. It comes with the infinity glass pool almost and it also comes with a sauna and steamer. So after a long trip, we get to relax and we’re going to enjoy our night here at the Imperial Palace. [Music] It wouldn’t be France without some cheese, wine, and meat. Best way to spend the evening. [Music] [Music] Good morning everyone. It’s a beautiful day by the lake. We’re just going to have some breakfast and we’re getting started on our day. [Music] So, after breakfast, I decided to take a little quick walk around the around the lake and around the Imperial Palace area. There’s a little park over there with some beautiful ducks and what’s the name? And [Music] peacocks. Come here. [Music] I decided to take a little walk around the lake after breakfast. And I guess everyone in France had the same exact idea, but everyone in France here is constantly running, walking their dogs, biking. There’s not a lot of just uh traveling through cars. A lot of people use bikes or motorcycles for their main center of transport or public transport, but there’s still plenty of cars. It’s a beautiful morning. It’s not too cold. It’s not too warm. I’d say it’s refreshing. And yeah, I’m just sitting here enjoying the view of the lake. What a beautiful start to the day. So, this lake actually over here is an alpine lake. So, that’s why it is known for its crystal clearar blue water. And it’s a shame it’s not sunny out because it would be extremely clear and extremely blue. But it’s still super nice. Even with a cloudy day, you still have get that beautiful clear blue color. [Music] [Music] All right, we just checked out of our hotel and we’re starting our route to Maj. Before heading to Majv, we decided to stop by the Oldtown of Anessi and check out the local market. The Oldtown Market takes place on Ruda Sinclair in the streets of the Oldtown on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. all year round. Just before we headed to the market, we stumbled across this little street that led us to Chateau de Any. And with a couple beautiful trees in full bloom, we had to stop and film it. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] This is where we’re picking up our snacks for the road. [Music] in English. Mushroom s with cheese and gar. [Music] Oh yes. [Music] Big [Music] window. Here we are. [Music] So, we’re walking around here at Anessi, just following the canal and seeing where it takes us. But there’s so many beautiful small kind of views that are very close to Italy, but the French version, so I think it’s a little bit better because it’s a little higher altitude and it’s in the mountains. After spending some time around NSC, we bought some classic local French food such as cheese and cured salami. But it wouldn’t be complete without a French baguette as well. After our stop, we were ready to continue driving around the Anessie [Music] Lake. On our way to Majv, we were driving along the eastern side of Lake Anessi. We passed through the beautiful lakeside villages of Menon St. Bernard and [Music] Terwis. Menon St. Bernard is commonly referred to simply as men. It is a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Anessi with its main attraction chateau demon. [Music] The chateau dementhon St. Bernard helped inspire Walt Disney when creating the castle from Sleeping Beauty. This is a captivating medieval castle perched above Lake Anacey in the southeast of France. Its fairy tale appearance, complete with turrets and panoramic alpine views, has enchanted visitors for centuries. [Music] So, we ended up stopping by one of the hotels we were supposed to be at. This is uh uh Le Palas Dumont. And we were supposed to stay here in St. and Bernard, but we actually ended up staying in an over there at the Imperial Palace. Personally, this would be super cool. They have a very beautiful lakefront property here. And I’m not even going to lie, I think I might just come back here just to stay one more night. I mean, who wouldn’t want to stay here? Like, let’s be honest. [Music] Are [Music] you a [Music] We have seen so many of these kinds of trees in France, but we’re not sure what kind of trees they are. If you know, please let us know in the comments down below. Lake Anacey is not only one of the cleanest lakes in Europe, but it also has two distinct sides, each with its own vibe, views, and experiences. It takes about an hour to drive around the entire lake. Close to the end of the eastern side of the lake is another popular town, Talwa. A peaceful, luxurious lakeside village known for gourmet dining and high-end hotels. There also is a bike trail around the lake called the Lake Anessi loop which will take you around the entire lake and we would like to try it one day during the spring or early summer. It’s about 42 km or a 27m ride and it takes around 3 hours to complete. Now we’re taking around the other side of Lake Anessie, the left side or the western shore, which we drove along our way back from our ski trip. And it’s amazing to see how different it looks on a sunny spring day compared to just a week before when we were here. More green, more flowers, and definitely more people out enjoying the weather. [Music] [Music] Lake Anacey is famously known to be one of the purest lakes in Europe and is the second largest glacial lake in France totaling 14.6 km. Its numerous aerial and underground springs come from the surrounding mountains and its water is filtered and enriched by the limestone rocks. So we’re on our way back and we’re stopping in Anacey again because it’s pretty much on our way from Shamani to Geneva where we’re flying out for from tomorrow. And we just loved Anacey so much. We wanted to stop by enjoy the market again cuz it is the weekend. So hopefully there’s going to be that market in town, buy some small things right before we leave. And of course, it’s sunny. It’s a little bit closer to springtime here in France. So hopefully all the flowers, all the trees that we didn’t see bloom the first time when we were in an hopefully now over the span of this sunny week started blooming. So we get to get some beautiful footage of NSE for you guys. And these alpine lakes just have crystal clear water. And I mean, just look at it. I’m I’m tempted to go swimming. Like the temperature is great outside. It’s It’s a little windy, but it’s like 67°. So yeah, I couldn’t ask for more for our last full day here in France. [Music] [Music] The Chateau Duo sits on a narrow peninsula that juts out into the lake and its crown jewel is a private Lakeside Castle that looks like something out of a fantasy novel. The castle is privately owned, but you can get amazing views from the lake or a nearby hiking trail. Heat. Heat. [Music] Sevier has some of the most beautiful public beaches. is like blier that are perfect for swimming, paddle boarding, or just lounging. The water here is calm, crystal clear, and familyfriendly, which is perfect for summer days. [Music] [Music] This side of the lake is less crowded than Anacey, but just as beautiful. It’s a perfect stop to make when traveling around the lake. Whether it be with a bike or with a car, it’s a great spot for swimming, relaxing, and having dinner with a quiet local vibe able to witness sunsets over the water. [Music] We’re here in Sevier and over here is the best place to sit down right by the water to have a little lunch, have a little dinner right by the water. But it is quite expensive. So I know where all the rich locals are at. The Bistron port [Music] This was our last stop around the lake before heading back to NYSE. We ended up driving around the lake because it was nearly impossible to find parking near the town. And compared to last week when it was still cold and cloudy, we saw way more people out biking and walking, just enjoying the sun and the start of spring. [Music] Many trees were already in full bloom which was very very nice and everyone enjoyed the beautiful and sunny day. [Music] This lakeside walk right by Anessie is probably one of the best places to relax on a weekend on a Sunday. Grab some snacks and enjoy the view. [Music] [Music] As the weather gets nicer and warmer and the spring brings plenty of blooming flowers to the city, it will also bring more and more people to the old town and the lakeside. So, be prepared to spend more time trying to find a parking spot. [Music] [Music] If you enjoyed this trip to Anessie, make sure you hit that like button and subscribe for more destinations. Drop your favorite town in the comments cuz we’re always looking for the next adventure. [Music] I protect you.