It’s a pleasure simply to wander aimlessly around Annecy’s medieval Old Town, where emerald-green canals flow beneath stone bridges and pastel-painted 16th- and 17th-century buildings bask in sunlight. This jumble of narrow pedestrian-only streets and pretty canals gave Annecy its nickname 'Venice of the Alps'.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.32 MILES
When landing by plane, this lakeside fountain is your first dramatic glimpse of Geneva. The 140m-tall structure shoots up water with incredible force –…
23.32 MILES
Founded in 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), 8km west of Geneva, is a laboratory for research into particle physics. It…
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4.51 MILES
Twenty-three generations of the De Menthon family have lived within 1000-year-old Château de Menthon-St-Bernard. The birthplace of St Bernard in 1008 –…
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Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques
22.74 MILES
Geneva's premier botanical park – renowned for its Botanical Conservatory – boasts over 12,000 species of plants from around the world, meticulously…
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Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève
20.61 MILES
Admission is free to the permanent collection of this excellent hands-on museum, which examines the similarities and differences of our planet's myriad of…
Cathédrale St-François de Sales
25.11 MILES
All is not as it seems inside Chambéry's 15th-century Franciscan cathedral, decorated with 6000 sq metres of trompe l’œil painting. The largest such…
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25.22 MILES
Medieval walls, Gothic tracery, trompe l'oeil detailing…Chambéry's château has acquired a wealth of styles since its founding in the 11th century. Once…
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20.77 MILES
A stroll around Geneva's beautiful Old Town is a must. Its main street, the Grand-Rue, shelters the Maison de Rousseau et de la Literature at No 40, where…
Nearby Annecy attractions
0.06 MILES
A pale sandstone church, Annecy's oldest, made all the more dazzling by the turquoise Canal du Thiou running alongside it. Step through the 15th-century…
0.07 MILES
Sitting on a triangular islet surrounded by the Canal du Thiou, the Palais de l’Isle has been a lordly residence, a courthouse, a mint and a prison,…
3. Église Notre Dame de Liesse
0.08 MILES
Largely built during the mid-19th century after its 14th-century predecessor was damaged during the French Revolution, the Church of Our Lady of Liesse…
0.08 MILES
A former Franciscan chapel consecrated in 1535, Annecy's cathedral has a Renaissance-meets-Gothic style. Drawing attention from the unadorned walls are a…
5. Église St-François de Sales
0.09 MILES
Inspired by the design of Rome's Church of the Gesù, this Catholic church is also known as the Church of the Italians (and hosts mass in Italian). Dating…
0.15 MILES
With commanding views across the ochre rooftops of the Vieille Ville (Old Town) to the Massif des Bauges, the Château d’Annecy is at once imposing and…
0.21 MILES
On the tree-fringed lakefront, the flowery Jardins de l’Europe are linked to the grassy Champ de Mars, a popular picnic spot, by the poetic iron arch of…
8. Château de Menthon-St-Bernard
4.51 MILES
Twenty-three generations of the De Menthon family have lived within 1000-year-old Château de Menthon-St-Bernard. The birthplace of St Bernard in 1008 –…