Annecy, France
It’s just breathtaking! The mountain views, the lake, the old town, the food, everything is just great!
We stayed at the Best Western Hôtel Carlton located on 5 Rue des Glières. Everything was truly within walking distance from this hotel, so you should think about this when booking a night or two in Annecy.
We arrived right in the middle of a festival, so we got to see a little bit. It was the “Retour des Alpages” or “Return from the Pasture Festival” celebrated in October, (the second Saturday of the month). Stupid me! I didn’t even look to see if anything was going on. I actually landed in Annecy because I wanted to celebrate my birthday outside of Switzerland. I’ve always heard it’s beautiful, but I wasn’t expecting it to be thiiiiiisss beautiful! The downfall on this trip was the rain. Boy, it just wouldn’t stop. But hey, rain or shine, the show must go on, right? And it did!
Then we headed out for the old town known as Annecy “Le Vieux”. At this point, it poured down heavy! Despite this, the streets were full! You had the locals selling their goods, Herdsmen exhibiting their cows, geese, sheep, horses, (their poop!!!) and playing the typical (Alphorn) music. This was a newsy to me. First time I saw Herdsmen play the Alphorn so, it was pretty exciting!
L’Auberge du Lyonnais Restaurant
In the evening, we headed out for a pizzeria, but then we spotted a restaurant that served fresh Seafood. This restaurant was totally packed. To me, that’s a sign of a great place to eat. Totally pleased that we decided to give it a try for the food was amazing! We had a dozen of Oysters accompanied by an iced tray full of Fruits de mer! It had a big Lobster, tons Snails, Mussels, Clams and Crabs! My daughter had Poisson grillé with some Purée de pomme de terre….and the dessert…, oh, hell…here, take a look…
It was just what I really needed! My daughter and I didn’t even left a shadow on that tray; not even the powdered sugar!!! I know, gross…but hey….good!!!!
Market Day…
A Culinary Enlightment!
Whoop! It turns out that every Sunday, from 7:00AM until 1:00PM, there’s a market that goes on all around the old town of Annecy. Anywhere you walked you would see the locals with their setup tents selling all their goods. It was very French, extremely crowded and incredibly diverse; from books, soaps, and leather goods, to vegetables, fruits, breads, cheeses and meats. I almost went nuts here! Before you know it, you spend !@#$%^* of money!!! Well, that’s if you’re like me. Are you like me? Every single time I go to a new town, city, country, I feel like it’s the end of I don’t know what! I get an impulse, an urge to buy it all because I know I won’t be back (soon, I mean). I’ll be gone, gone gone! Just wondering…any who…
Since we didn’t have breakfast at the hotel, we went ahead and bought some stuff (strawberries, different kinds of breads, Goat Cheese and some olives). Then, we made ourselves a little picnic by the lake. Obviously, we were not alone with this idea. We saw a group of people doing the same thing we did. Here are some snapshots of the park by the lake…
Views from the Lac L’Annecy
La Table d’Elise Restaurant
View of Annecy “Le Vieux” from the Musee Château
After lunch, we made our way to the Château d’Annecy, also known as the Musée-Château d’Annecy. The views from up there are magnificent. Other than that, if you’re not interested in Art, then I suggest to just walk the surroundings of the castle. On the other hand, if you do like Art, make sure you visit it on Sundays….it’s free!
Sadly but true, this is all we got to see in Annecy. We were there for only 1 night. Not enough!!! You need at least 2 full days for this is truly an enchanting little medieval town. No doubt about it! So when in Annecy, do as the locals do…relax and enjoy the view!
For more information about Annecy, France make sure to visit their official tourism website at http://en.lac-annecy.com For more information about Best Western Hôtel Carlton, visit this link: Best Western Hôtel Carlton (Annecy)
