20 Attractions to Explore Near Lake Annecy

The Château d'Annecy is a restored castle that dominates the old French town of Annecy in the Haute-Savoie département. It was bought by the town, restored and transformed into a museum, le musée-château d'Annecy. The castle is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1959. There is an important collection of vernacular furniture, dating from the 15th century onwards, sculpted objects, photographs and models of Alpine chalets.

The Pont des Amours is a footbridge located on the shores of Lake Annecy at the entrance to the Vassé canal; its official name is “Passerelle du Jardin public” but the people of Annecy have renamed it “Pont des Amours” for a very long time. It connects the Pâquier to the Gardens of Europe where lovers used to go to find refuge and tranquility. This bridge remains today a very frequented passage in an absolutely romantic setting with magnificent views of the city, the canals, and the lake.

Listed as a historic monument in 1900, the Palais de l'Ile, often described as a "house in the shape of a ship" has been a prison, a courthouse and an administrative centre. It is an original structure, the oldest parts of which date from the 12th century.

The Semnoz mountain is situated in the French alps and it was the green lungs of the city of Annecy. It was one of the favorite places for an outing to the people of Annecy by its spectacular views. For skiing and snowboarding, there is 18 km of slopes available. One of the beautiful locations in this area and also a good trekking site.

A summit of the Bornes massif which rises to 2,351 m above sea level. Its notoriety owes in part to its massive appearance and the 360º panoramic views of the French Alps and Lake Annecy. The climb on La Tournette provides an exciting hike and the summit is often crowded, particularly on autumn Sundays when the sky is clear.

The Gorges du Fier are a remarkable natural curiosity of France, in Haute-Savoie: a very narrow and deep gorge that can be visited thanks to a footbridge fixed to the side of the rock, built-in 1869 by the Annecy architect Marius Vallin and Listed since 1943. This gorge was cut by the powerful Fier torrent in the town of Lovagny, some eleven kilometers west of Annecy.

Col des Aravis is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1.487m above the sea level, located in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. The pass is traversed by the scenic Route des Grandes Alpes. Col des Aravis is the lowest pass in the Aravis mountain range. The road to the summit is a bit steep. One of the beautiful locations in this area and also a nice place which is blessed with natural beauty.

The Salève is a mountain of the French Prealps located in the department of Haute-Savoie. It is also called the “Balcony of Geneva”. Geographically, the Salève is a mountain in the Prealps located in the Haute-Savoie department, but it geologically belongs to the Jura chain, just like the Vuache. One of the risky trekking destination and also camping is possible here.

Lac du Bourget, also locally known as Lac Gris or Lac d'Aix, is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and either the largest or second-largest after Lac de Grand-Lieu depending on the season. The lake is meromictic, meaning that it has layers that do not mix.

Les Saisies is a ski resort located in the Savoie départment of France. It is 30 km from Albertville, host of the 1992 Winter Olympics. For those games, the resort hosted the biathlon and cross-country skiing events. The resort also has alpine skiing trails for use and forms part of the Espace Diamant skiing region. Les Saisies organized the 2014 European Company Sports Games.

This large 26'438m3 park was named after Philippe Chuit,Swiss chemist and pioneer in the creation of synthetic perfumes. This park was the former property of Mrs. Thérèse Chuit-Firmenich (1875-1968), a widow of Philippe Chuit. The property was purchased by the municipality of Lancy in 1969. It was one of the unique locations in this area which invites a lot of tourists.

The Ethnographic Museum of Geneva has eye-catching, ultra-modern architecture and a remarkable museography that shows off rare pieces from all over the world. Its reference exhibition, "The Archives of Human Diversity", focuses on the history of the collections, ethnomusicology, and the five continents, through masks, headdresses, clothes, pictorial representations, tools, and totems. Temporary exhibitions.

The Patek Philippe Museum is located in the heart of the Plainpalais district which was founded in 2001. The museum showcases the most prestigious creations of the brand’s master watchmakers. Visitors can also admire an extraordinary collection of watches, musical automata, and enamel miniatures from the 16th to the 19th centuries, created in Geneva, Switzerland, and Europe. The museum also houses a library entirely dedicated to horology and its related subjects.

The Russian Church, Geneva is a historic Russian Orthodox church in Geneva, Switzerland. Grand Duchess Anna Fyodorovna, who resided in Bern and Geneva after she chose to separate from Grand Duke Constantine, gave funds to build the church in 1863. It was designed by David Grimm of the Imperial Academy of Arts and completed in 1866 in the fashionable Les Tranchées neighborhood of Geneva. The Russian revival church, with its Byzantine striped arches and gold onion domes, underwent restoration in

The National History Museum was inaugurated in 1966. It was Switzerland’s largest natural history exhibition. Its First and second floors are dedicated to another large collection of stuffed and preserved animals, tropical this time. A special mention for the reconstitutions of extinct dodo bird, great auk and King Island emu and also there are so many attractions in and around this museum.

Mamco is the largest, youngest, and most contemporary art museum in Switzerland. It enjoys international fame and is recognized as a benchmark institution in the contemporary scene. He bases his work on a collection of 4,000 works, a third of which belong to him. Since it opened in 1994, the museum has presented more than 450 exhibitions, reflecting the diversity and dynamism of the Swiss and international art scene.

The Museum of Art and History is one of the three largest museums in Switzerland. In particular, it brings together archaeological, applied art, and fine arts collections. The result of the merging of several regional funds, donations from collectors, foundations, and philanthropic citizens. The richness of its collections includes around 650 works of art.

The Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève is a contemporary art exhibition centre in Geneva, Switzerland, founded by Adelina von Fürstenberg in 1974. The Centre was the first contemporary art institution in Suisse Romande. As a Kunsthalle, it does not have a collection but organizes temporary exhibitions and projects with regional and international artists.

Grandes Jorasses are a group of granite peaks located on the northern side of the Mont Blanc range, on the border between Italy and France. Although all its faces are amazing, its 1.200-meter north wall is the biggest challenge for climbers. The climb to the highest peak of the Grandes Jorasses is a technically demanding route, over ice and rocks.

This 1,100-acre park encourages visitors to explore Nature from the ground to the galaxies. Six trails total 3.97 miles. Numerous site features include a trail with interactive pods representing each trail proportionate to the sun, a trail with interactive stations representing ways to study weather, life-sized cornerstones of the Great Pyramid of Giza, earthen mounds, henge stones, and, via a woodland trail, access to the Nassau Astronomical Station.