Things to do in Annecy fit into 1 day from Geneva, 42 km away: the bus takes 45 minutes (from €7.98) and the 1-hour boat ride costs €19 (Nov 2026). From Paris, the direct TGV INOUI takes 3h53 (from €39 in December), so Annecy is only worth it with at least one night by the lake.
| From Geneva | 42 km away: bus in about 45 min (from €7.98) or direct train in 1h30 (Léman Express; the price does not show on the SNCF Connect site, check on the day) |
|---|---|
| From Paris | Direct TGV INOUI, 3h53; from €39 (2nd class, Dec 15, 2026, SNCF Connect, Nov 2026); the price varies by date |
| Lake boat | €19 (1 hour) or €22 (1h30) in Nov 2026, from March 1 to November 30 |
| Musée-Château | €6.50 from September to December 2026 (€7 in July and August); open every day |
| Old town market | Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, from 7 am |
| How long | 1 day is enough for the essentials; 2 days to cycle around the lake |
Checked in Nov 2026 on official channels. Prices and hours checked on the official websites; confirm before booking.
Is Annecy worth it, and how many days should you stay?
Yes, especially as a day trip from Geneva or as a stop of one or two nights between Switzerland and the French Alps: Annecy combines an old town cut by canals, a 27 km² lake at 447 m above sea level, and mountains all around, all a few minutes’ walk from each other (Office de Tourisme du Lac d’Annecy). The tourist office itself calls the old town the “Venise des Alpes”, the Venice of the Alps.
Dica: Aproveite também para fazer estes passeios em Paris
Tour pelo exterior da catedral de Notre Dame + Ingresso da cripta . Duração: 2 horas
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Veja mais passeio em Paris aqui.
How many days to stay depends on how much of the lake you want to see, not on the size of the town: the old town takes a morning. The table below is our recommended pace, based on the official hours and prices that appear throughout the guide.
| Format | What fits | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day (from Geneva) | Old town, Palais de l’Isle, castle, 1-hour boat ride and lunch | Leave early and check the time of the last bus or train back |
| 2 days (1 night) | Everything above + a bike ride along the west shore of the lake | The most comfortable pace; you sleep near the water |
| 3 days | 2 days + a day in the mountains | La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand are 31 km away (skiing in winter) |
What to do in Annecy’s old town?
Annecy’s old town can be covered on foot in 2 to 3 hours and revolves around the Thiou river, which cuts through the old town in shallow canals lined with warm-colored houses. The town was born from the power of this river: in the 12th century, craftsmen left the hill of Annecy-le-Vieux and settled on the banks of the Thiou, near the lake (Office de Tourisme).
Palais de l’Isle
The Palais de l’Isle is Annecy’s most photographed monument: a stone building on a natural islet that looks like a ship anchored in the middle of the Thiou. It was a 12th-century stronghold, then a prison, a courthouse and a mint, and has been a listed historic monument since 1900 (Office de Tourisme, Nov 2026). The best view is from one of the bridges next to it, free and at any hour.
Musée-Château d’Annecy
The Musée-Château d’Annecy, the residence of the Counts of Geneva in the 13th and 14th centuries, costs €6.50 from September to December 2026, and €7 in July and August, and is open every day in 2026 (Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc Tourisme). The oldest part is the 13th-century Tour de la Reine. Check the day’s opening hours on the museum’s website before climbing the hill.
Old town market and local food
The old town market takes place on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, from 7 am, and is Annecy’s most typical one (Office de Tourisme, Nov 2026). If you would rather go straight to the flavors of the region, you can book the food tour of Annecy, lasting 3 to 3.5 hours, with a guide in English and French.
What to do at Lake Annecy: boat, beach and bike?
Lake Annecy is 14.6 km long, covers 27 km² and is up to 80 m deep, and the three ways to enjoy it are boat, lake swimming and bike (Office de Tourisme). Do the boats run all year? No: the boat rides below only operate from March 1 to November 30.
Boat ride
The Compagnie des Bateaux du Lac d’Annecy sells three non-stop rides leaving from Annecy: the 1-hour ride on the big lake costs €19 per adult; the 1h15 ride, on the same stretch, and the 1h30 ride, which goes all the way around the lake, cost €22 (Nov 2026). Children aged 4 to 12 pay €13.50 for the 1-hour ride and €15 for the 1h30 one (company website). Boarding closes 15 minutes before departure.
The commentary on board is in French, and in English, Dutch, Spanish and Italian via QR code. If the language matters, download the text to your phone before setting off.
Beach and lake swimming
The tourist office counts a dozen beaches on the lakeshore, and swimming is a summer thing: on the Office de Tourisme’s own website, the water read 12.2 °C on November 8, 2026 (Office de Tourisme, Nov 2026). Only local clubs swim all winter; for visitors, the rule is to leave the dip for the warm months.
Cycling the voie verte
The voie verte, the west-shore cycle path, links Annecy to Marlens over 33 km, with no difficulty and only 20 m of cumulative elevation gain; the full loop around the lake is 40 km with 200 m of elevation gain (Office de Tourisme). Annecy train station has bike rental from the Vélonecy service, and the tourist office lists partner shops with e-bikes, tandems and child seats. Rental prices vary by shop and were not checked for this guide.
How to get from Geneva to Annecy?
From Geneva to Annecy it is 42 km, and the FlixBus takes about 45 minutes, with tickets from €7.98, ten trips a day and a first departure at 7:35 am (FlixBus, Nov 2026). The direct train (Léman Express) takes 1h30 (SNCF Connect, Nov 2026); the price does not show in the site’s result, so check the fare on the day. Geneva airport is 50 km from Annecy, with train and bus connections (Office de Tourisme).
| Option | Time | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| FlixBus | about 45 min, from €7.98 (Nov 2026) | The fastest and cheapest for a same-day return trip |
| Direct train | 1h30, direct (Léman Express) | To leave early, with more departures per day |
| Guided tour (Civitatis) | 4h30 or 7h | For those who don’t want to organize anything; English-speaking guide |
The 4h30 tour from Geneva to Annecy and the 7-hour tour of Annecy and Geneva both come with an English-speaking guide and air-conditioned transport; admission tickets and lunch are on you. Visitors from the EU and from visa-exempt countries do not need a visa for Switzerland or France for stays of up to 90 days (both are part of the Schengen area), but check the ETIAS situation on the official European Union website (ETIAS).
How to get from Paris to Annecy, and can you do it as a day trip?
From Paris, the direct TGV INOUI takes 3h53, for example on the 6:45 am departure on Dec 15, 2026, arriving at 10:38 am (SNCF Connect, Nov 2026); the road distance is 561 km (Office de Tourisme). A same-day return would add up to more than 7 hours on the train, so only do it with an overnight stay. The ticket starts at €39 in 2nd class in that December example; the price varies by date, so check the fare on the day on SNCF Connect, SNCF’s official site, before deciding.
| Leaving from | Travel time | Day trip? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva | Bus in about 45 min; train in 1h30 | Yes | Bus from €7.98 (Nov 2026) |
| Paris | Direct TGV INOUI, 3h53 | No: stay 1 or 2 nights | From €39 (Dec 2026, SNCF Connect) |
| Lyon | A regional train (TER) links the two cities | Possible | 146 km away; check the time on SNCF Connect |
If it is your first time on French trains, read the beginner’s guide to trains in France. For day trips that really fit in a day from Paris, see the TGV day trips; and to combine Annecy with another big city in the region, the guide to things to do in Lyon shows the neighboring stop. By car, the tourist office asks you to avoid the center of Annecy; see the rules for driving in France, tolls and fuel.
Annecy in winter or summer: when to go?
Go in summer to swim, cycle and sail; go in winter if you want a quiet town, a Christmas market and snow nearby. The boat ride only operates from March 1 to November 30, so in winter the lake becomes scenery, not an attraction.
| Season | What to do | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Summer | Lake swimming, cycling and boat rides | Castle at €7 in July and August (2026) |
| March to November | Boat, voie verte and old town | The water was 12.2 °C on Nov 8, 2026 |
| December to February | Christmas market, castle and skiing 31 km away | No 1h to 1h30 boat rides |
The Christmas market, the “Noël des Alpes”, is announced from November 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027, in the old town and along the lake; confirm the dates on the city’s website. For serious skiing, see the guide to skiing in the French Alps; La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand, the closest resorts, are 31 km from Annecy. More seasonal ideas in Paris in winter and in when to travel to France.
How much does a day in Annecy cost?
In torreeiffel.com.br’s Nov 2026 survey, a day in Annecy from Geneva cost from €41, without food: round-trip bus at €7.98 each way, 1-hour boat ride at €19 and the castle at €6.50. The old town, the market and the voie verte are free.
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Geneva–Annecy bus | from €7.98 each way (Nov 2026) | FlixBus; the price varies by date |
| 1-hour boat ride | €19 (Nov 2026) | Child aged 4 to 12: €13.50 (Nov 2026) |
| 1h30 boat ride | €22 (Nov 2026) | Full loop of the lake |
| Musée-Château | €6.50 (Sep-Dec 2026) | €7 in July and August 2026 |
| 4h30 tour from Geneva | see the price on Civitatis (Nov 2026) | Civitatis; English-speaking guide |
| Food tour | see the price on Civitatis (Nov 2026) | Civitatis; guide in English and French |
The values above are the minimums advertised on the operators’ websites; meals, bike rental and accommodation are not included and vary by season. To compare with the cost of admission in Paris, see ticket prices in Paris.
Where to stay in Annecy?
Stay in the old town or close to it to do everything on foot: it is where the canals, the castle and the market are, and the train station is a few minutes away. The villages on the lakeshore, such as Sévrier and Saint-Jorioz, are quieter and require a bus or a bike to get back to the center.
| Area | Advantage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Old town and surroundings | Canals, restaurants and everything on foot | Busy streets at night and smaller rooms |
| Near the train station | Easy arrival and departure; bike rental | Less charm than the old center |
| Lakeside villages (Sévrier, Saint-Jorioz) | Calmer, with access to the water | Needs a bus or a bike |
To see what is still available on your dates, see the hotels in Annecy on Booking with free cancellation. If you are coming from Paris before or after, you can choose the neighborhood in the guide to where to stay in Paris.
What nobody tells you about Annecy?
- A day trip from Paris is a trap. With 3h53 of TGV each way, little time is left at the lake; stay at least one night.
- Tours from Geneva may not be in your language. The Civitatis tours listed here use an English-speaking guide; check the language on the activity page before paying.
- The boat does not run from December to February. The 1h, 1h15 and 1h30 rides run from March 1 to November 30.
- The bike loop around the lake is interrupted in 2026. The RD 909 A and the voie verte at Talloires-Montmin are closed from September 14 to December 18, 2026, for safety works; only the west shore is open.
- Cars in the center are a nuisance. The tourist office recommends avoiding the center of Annecy; use car parks outside the old town and walk.
- Geneva uses the Swiss franc. If you do the day trip, you change currency: Annecy charges in euros.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to visit Annecy?
Visitors from the EU and from visa-exempt countries do not need a visa to visit Annecy, in France, for stays of up to 90 days, and the same goes for those passing through Geneva, in Switzerland, which is also in the Schengen area. Check ETIAS on the official European Union website before traveling.
Is Annecy close to Geneva?
Annecy is 42 km from Geneva by road and 50 km from Geneva airport, according to the Office de Tourisme. The bus takes about 45 minutes, from €7.98 (FlixBus, Nov 2026), and the direct train takes 1h30 (price: check SNCF Connect).
How much does the boat ride on Lake Annecy cost?
The 1-hour boat ride on Lake Annecy costs €19 per adult, and the 1h30 ride, which goes all the way around, costs €22 (Compagnie des Bateaux, Nov 2026). Children aged 4 to 12 pay €13.50 and €15, respectively. The rides run from March 1 to November 30.
Can you swim in Lake Annecy in winter?
Swimming in Lake Annecy in winter is not recommended for visitors: the water read 12.2 °C on November 8, 2026, according to the Office de Tourisme, and only local clubs swim all year. Lake swimming is a summer activity, at the beaches along the shore.
What days is the Annecy old town market?
The Annecy old town market takes place on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, from 7 am, according to the Office de Tourisme’s calendar (Nov 2026). It is the town’s most typical market, in the old town, and is worth a morning visit.
Conclusion
If you are in Geneva, go to Annecy: take the first bus, stroll around the old town in the morning, take the 1-hour boat ride in the afternoon and head back before the last departure. If you are in Paris, only go with at least one night, preferably between March and November, when the lake is really in action. More travel ideas in itinerary for France for a first trip and on torreeiffel.com.br.
How we checked this information
Boat, castle, market and voie verte prices and hours: official websites (Nov 2026). Train (Paris–Annecy and Geneva–Annecy): SNCF Connect (Nov 2026); bus: FlixBus (Nov 2026). Civitatis tour prices: Civitatis (Nov 2026). Not checked: the Geneva–Annecy train price, bike rental, hotels and the Christmas market dates at the official source.