Last Day in Annecy (Nov 6, 2025)

Just some more exploring on our last day in Annecy.  We've seen just about everything there is to see, but I'll be sorry to leave.

Building in Place Saint-Claire

Medieval street scene

Fondue for lunch at Le Fréti

Château d'Annecy

Castle entrance

Castle wall

Street scene

Stairway up to the castle

Thiou River

Swan in the river

Carousel

Overlooking the Canal de Vassé

Alongside the canal

Ducks in the canal in front of Lovers' Bridge

Supermoon rising

Lake Annecy with the Supermoon

Pier in the lake

Evening view of town with Basilica of the Visitation in the background

As I've said before, the worst part of the trip is packing up for the journey to the next stop.  Luckily we were only here four days so there wasn't time to spread out, so to speak.  Tomorrow we leave for the third largest city in France.

Day Trip to Chamonix (Nov 5, 2025)

We left a town that is in the foothills of the Alps to see a town that is right up against them--Chamonix.  Officially Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, it's a resort town of just over 8600 people that hosted the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924.

While I prefer to take trains, the bus trips to Chamonix were much cheaper so that's what we decided to use--a BlaBlaCar Bus.  It was a 104 km (64.6 mi) trip and it took about 1.5 hours.  Luckily, the bus was pretty comfortable.  The bus dropped us off on the outskirts of town and we walked to the center.

Saint Michel Church

Fe and I with the mountains

Buildings and the mountains.  You can see the ski lift on the right.  Spoiler alert: it was closed, so we couldn't use it.

Looking downstream over the Arve River

Statue of Horace Bénédict de Saussure, founder of alpinism and modern meteorology.

Looking downstream

View from Place Saussure

Wooden Bridge over the Arve

Love locks

Fe in the town square

Chamonix Protestant Church

Inside the church.  Another ceiling that looks like a ship's hull.

Back of the church and cemetery

Inside Josephine Restaurant

Cappuccino

Nutella crepe for lunch

Town view from another bridge

Whoever lives in the apartments on the other side of these buildings has a great view.

Even though we took a bus, I like to get railroad station pics.

Train in the station

Fe in an old cable car.  The cable car was not running when we were there and neither was the cog railway to the glacier.  It wasn't ski season yet, and I noticed  few other things were closed.  I guess this is when they get a vacation.

After seeing all this, it was time to head back to our bus pickup.  We got there in plenty of time, but when our bus pulled in I knew there was an issue since the driver opened the engine door and was on the phone for a while.  Turns out it was leaking oil and the company was sending a replacement bus which got there about an hour (maybe a bit more that that) later.  I'm glad we had another full day in Annecy scheduled--about half of our original riders made alternate arrangements.  It was all good though, we met and talked with a Filipino group and the replacement bus was newer and more comfortable.  We got back to our hotel around 6:30 pm.  Better than being stuck on the highway in the mountains if the engine blew.  I think they made a movie about that.

Walking Around Town (Nov 4, 2025)

We spent today taking in more of the sights of Annecy.  It's called the "Venice of the Alps," and you'll see why in the photos.  The weather is clear and cool (I assume because we're close to the Alps), but it's good for strolling.

Looking towards the mountains

Looking upstream over the Thiou River

Street view along the river

Clock Tower on the Palais de l'Ile

Downstream from the Palais de l'Ile

Palais de l'Ile

View from the Perriere Bridge

By now, it was lunchtime and we stopped at a place called l'Atlas Restaurant.  Lots of people were sitting outside, but we sat inside where it was warm.  It's one thing where we don't blend in with the locals.

Sitting at our table

The appetizer: shrimp spring rolls

The main course: tartiflette poulet (chicken).  We shared this.

Dessert: Crème Brûlée

Time to walk that off.

View along the Quai Beyreuth

Wooden boats tied up along Lake Annecy

Fe and I by the lake

Enjoying the view

Ponte des Amours (Lovers' Bridge)

Canal du Vassé

Saint François de Sales church

Front of the church

Church altar

Notre Dame de Lisse

Church altar

View of the dome

After dinner--which I can't remember like our lunch--we went out for some night views.

Palais de l'Ile

Fe and the Palais de l'Ile

Clock tower

View of the Notre Dame church bell tower

Building facade

Lots of walking today, so we didn't have trouble getting to sleep tonight!