Annecy & Cruseilles, France

 Bustling, scenic Annecy, France, continues to be full of tourists at this date in October, and it is understandable.  The city borders a large lake which promotes a mild climate.  We saw hearty souls still swimming in its cool, clear waters.  The city is surrounded by mountains, the ‘pre-Alps’ with the true Alps nearby.  The outlet of the lake, a small river, flows through the city, past ancient bridges, cobblestone streets, and ancient stone buildings with historic character.  We discovered a large marketplace for fresh fruits & vegetables, cheese, wine, meats…. Pretty much anything you could want was there. Tourists in large numbers, many restaurants, and an adjacent retail district for anything else that could interest you.

Annecy promenade; great place for a long walk while enjoying a pleasant day.  We are looking east, the city is off to the left (north).  

Dawn relaxing on a bench lakeside.

Looking south from Annecy along the length of its adjacent lake.

Old town Annecy, looking west along the outflowing river.

A large and well-attended market in old town.  Providing restaurants with fresh produce and, at other booths, handcrafts for tourists.

The old town section of Annecy extends along both sides of the outflowing river requiring a series of bridges.

I have a weakness for the curves of wooden boats.  Hundreds of boats, mostly plastic are available for rent along the waterfront here.  It must get hectic on a summer's day with the crowds of tourists.  

Every tourist seemed to want a photo of this building, and it is a striking location.

L-Arborescence Hotel & Restaurant, located on a small lake (15-minute brisk walk around it) on the outskirts of Cruseilles.

Near our lakeside hotel, on the far shore, was a pleasant, wooded park with a deer enclosure.

The major difficulty was to negotiate the multitude of roundabouts, one-way streets, bus-only zones, confusing GPS directions, and find a PARKING place.  We got yelled at when GPS directed us into a bus only zone.  Finally, we found a well-positioned parking spot, and we walked everywhere else, not wanting to endure the maze of traffic more than once.  If we were to do it again, I would plug "Annecy parking lot near lake" into my GPS instead of simply "Annecy".

I am glad that I selected a hotel (9 rooms total) near the town of Cruseilles for our accommodation.  Otherwise, we would have had the same problem we encountered in the London area.  L'Arborescence, our hotel, is located on a small lake with walking paths and even a wild animal enclosure.  The hotel was only recently purchased by a young couple only a month before our visit.  It is a decent hotel, but many details need to be refreshed.  Their restaurant is supposed to be outstanding (often sold-out, reservations needed), but Dawn and I did not eat there.  We hate waiting until 7 pm to eat.  Instead, we went to the local Boulangerie-Patisserie in close-by Cruseilles.