Lyon & the French Alps - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 503

Annecy
POP 53,000 / ELEV 447M
Annecy paints the prettiest of pictures. Caressed by sapphire Lac d'Annecy, ringed
by lushly wooded mountains and spiralling around a medieval old town, it makes
visitors - all two million of them a year - stop in wonder and reach for their cameras
on every glorious corner.

Sights

PALAIS DE L'ISLE
(3 passage de l'Île; adult/child €3.60/1.30; 10.30am-6pm) Sitting on a triangular
islet in the Canal du Thiou, the whimsically turreted, 12th-century Palais de l'Isle
has been a lordly residence, courthouse, mint and prison (lucky inmates!) over the
centuries. Today Annecy's most visible landmark hosts local-history displays.

Museum

VIEILLE VILLE & LAKEFRONT
It's a pleasure simply to wander aimlessly around Annecy's medieval old town, a
photogenic jumble of narrow streets, turquoise canals and colonnaded passage-
ways. Continue down to the tree-fringed lakefront and the flowery Jardins de
l'Europe , linked to the popular picnic spot Champ de Mars by the poetic iron arch
of the Pont des Amours (Lovers' Bridge).

Historic Quarter