Marie Dubois moved to Annecy from Lyon in 2016 for a six-month sabbatical. She never left. She works as a freelance translator, cycles the Voie Verte four times a week, and has strong opinions about cheese.
Q: What's the first thing you'd tell someone visiting Annecy for the first time?
Come early. Not early in the year — early in the day. The old town at 7 AM is a completely different place than at noon. The canals are still, the light hits the Palais de l'Isle perfectly, and you can actually hear the water. By 11 AM in summer, it's a sea of selfie sticks. I'm not exaggerating.
Q: What do tourists get wrong about Annecy?
The fondue thing. I know it sounds like a silly complaint, but ordering fondue or tartiflette in July genuinely makes locals cringe. These are winter dishes. Imagine going to a restaurant in Texas and ordering hot soup when it's 35°C outside — that's how it feels to us. In summer, order perch from the lake (perche du lac) or a Savoyard salad. Trust me.
Also, everyone goes to the same three spots in the old town, takes the same photo of the Palais de l'Isle from the Pont Perrière, and leaves. The old town has covered passageways and tiny squares that most visitors never find because they don't look up or turn down the unmarked alleys.
Q: What's your favorite restaurant?
For an everyday lunch, Le Freti on Rue Sainte-Claire does the best raclette in winter and excellent lake fish year-round. Portions are honest, prices are fair — about €15-20 for a main. For a special occasion, Le Clos des Sens in Annecy-le-Vieux is worth the splurge. But honestly, the best food in Annecy is at the Sunday market. Buy Reblochon from a producer, get bread from the bakery stall, and eat it on a bench by the canal.
Q: Plage d'Albigny or Plage des Marquisats?
Marquisats. Always Marquisats. Albigny is bigger and more popular, which means it's also more crowded and louder. Marquisats has a more relaxed vibe, slightly fewer families with inflatable toys, and a better view of the mountains. But both get packed by noon in July-August. Get there by 10 AM or don't bother.
If you want to escape crowds entirely, drive 20 minutes south to Plage de Talloires. It's smaller, quieter, and the water is just as clean.
Q: Is the Voie Verte as good as people say?
Better. I cycle it four times a week and I still notice new things — the way the light changes on the east shore in late afternoon, a heron fishing in the shallows near Sevrier, the mountains reflected in the lake when there's no wind. Forty-two kilometers, flat, car-free, and beautiful the entire way.
Rent from Roul'ma Poule near the station. Get an e-bike if you're not a regular cyclist — the path is flat but 42 km is a lot if you're stopping for photos and swimming, which you should be.
Q: Is paragliding worth it?
I've done it three times. The answer is yes. The launch from Col de la Forclaz — the view of the lake opening up below you as you lift off — is probably the most beautiful thing in Annecy, and I include the old town in that comparison. €90-120 for a tandem flight with video. Book a day or two ahead in summer.
Q: What tourist trap should people avoid?
The overpriced restaurants right on the canal in the old town — you know, the ones with the terrace seating overlooking the water. The view is great. The food is mediocre and costs 30-40% more than restaurants two streets away. Walk to Rue Sainte-Claire or the streets behind the cathedral for better food at better prices.
Also, the paid beach clubs. There's no reason to pay €15-20 for a sunbed when the public beaches are free, clean, and have the same lake.
Q: Gorges du Fier — worth the detour?
Absolutely. It's 10 km from town, costs €6.50, and it's a walkway bolted to a cliff face 25 meters above a roaring river gorge. Most tourists never go because it's not on the lake. Their loss. The Mer de Rochers viewpoint at the end is spectacular. Open late March to mid-October.
Q: What do tourists always get wrong?
They treat Annecy as a day trip. I understand — you're based in Geneva or doing a tour of France and you give Annecy four hours. But four hours gives you the old town and the lake shore and nothing else. You miss the Voie Verte, the gorge, the Sunday market, the paragliding, the mountain views at sunset.
Annecy needs three days minimum. Two for the town and lake, one for outdoor activities. Four if you want to day-trip to La Clusaz for skiing or hiking.
Q: When is the worst time to visit?
The last two weeks of July and the first week of August. The old town is shoulder-to-shoulder, parking is a nightmare, and every restaurant has a 45-minute wait. If you must come in summer, aim for June or September. The weather is nearly as good and the crowds drop by 60%.
Also, avoid driving on the lake road on sunny weekends. The traffic is absurd. Take the train or bus.
Q: What's the one thing you'd make every visitor do?
Cycle the Voie Verte, stop at Plage de Talloires for a swim, have lunch at a lakeside restaurant in Veyrier-du-Lac, and come back along the west shore in late afternoon light. The round trip takes 4-5 hours and it's the best day you can have in the French Alps without climbing a mountain.
Q: After 10 years, do you still love it?
More than when I arrived. Annecy is the kind of place that reveals itself slowly. The first visit you see the postcard. The second you find the passages and the back streets. By the tenth, you know which bench has the best sunset view and which bakery opens earliest and which canal sounds different after rain.
I came for six months. I'm never leaving.
