If you haven’t purchased our great Know-it-all passport guide yet and have been wondering what wonderful things we have included, then wonder no more! Here is a sample of what you will find in the 2011/2012 edition:
ANNECY
Directions: If you take the autoroute A41 (toll) it will take about 25 minutes to the exit Annecy Centre Ville. Or take the D1201 through Cruseilles and on to Annecy which will take about 45 minutes from the center of Geneva.
Canals run through the old town of Annecy and restaurants line every street. The lake is well-known for its beauty and paddle or row boats, may be hired. There is a large old-fashioned carousel near the lake that runs most of the year.
The flea market is held in the old town streets the last Saturday of the month.
We would recommend parking in the Centre Courier which has some great shops and then walking down the rue Carnot (mostly pedestrian and full of great shops). If you take the D1201 you must visit the Pont de la Caille on your way (see below).
— Tourist Office
Centre Bonlieu
1, rue Jean Jaurès
7400 Annecy
France
0033/450 45 00 33
www.lac-annecy.com
The tourist office is open 9h-12h30 and 13h45-18h.
— Boat trips
Compagnie de Navigation du lac d’Annecy
2, pl. aux Bois
74000 Annecy, France
0033/450 51 08 40
www.annecy-croisieres.com
Tour the lake and its villages by boat. Price for the Big Lake Tour (lasts one hour): €12.40/adult, €8.50/child (age 5-12), under 5s free. Price for the 2-hour cruise: €15.80.-/adult, €11.10/kids 6-12, under 5 free. Take good walking shoes as you can disembark to visit the villages and then pick up a later boat to carry on with your tour.
Other boat trips available for a 2-hour circuit on “Le Libellule” (includes Grand Lac and Petit Lac): lunches, dinners with dancing, or just with a tour guide. 1-hour trips available.
— Eating
Annecy is bursting with restaurants of all types but the main focus will be on French food: gastronomic to budget. Check out our chapter on restaurants and the Chocolate Chapter in our book for ideas of where to eat.
— Farmer’s Market
Set in the old town Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday 7h-13h.
— Flea market
Last Saturday of each month in the old town 8h-17h.
— Shopping
Annecy is a great place to buy clothes for your children (see page 629). You can easily park in Parking Courier (see page 82). All the nice boutiques are not far from there. In the Parking there is a toilet area especially for children, with a changing table.
— Old Town
Château d'Annecy
Annecy, France
http://musees.agglo-annecy.fr
Castle and museum. Expositions, workshops, café, tours. Check website for openings and prices.
NEAR ANNECY
— Le Foret de l’Aventure
74290 Talloires
Lac d’Annecy
France
0033/607 56 90 58
0033/611 67 56 20
www.base-nature-aventure.com/en
Open April through October daily 12h-19h. Weekends, public and school holidays 9h30-19h. 12 July to 15 August from 9h30-20h. Last departure 17h. Open weekend afternoons in October and November for groups only. Reservations recommended. About 20 minutes from Annecy.
— Gorges du Fier
74330 Lovagny
France
0033/450 46 23 07
www.gorgesdufier.com
About 10km west of Annecy, these magnificent gorges have dug their way through the rock with water, polishing it on its way. The crevasse is so narrow at certain points that when it rains heavily, the water can rise up to 26 meters in a few hours.
Price: €5.-/adult, €2.70/child 7-16, under 7 free. Open March 15 to June 14 daily from 9h30-18h15. June 15 and September 10 open 9h30-19h15. September 11 to October 15 open 9h30-18h15. Note: the ticket office closes 1 hour before the end of visits. Allow at least 40 minutes for the visit. Shop and snack bar.
— Maison des Grottes
74210 Seythenex
France
0033/450 44 55 97
www.cascade.fr
Directions: Go through Annecy and follow signs to Albertville, then Faverges. Take a right in the direction of the Col de Tamié and follow signs to the Grottes et Cascade. About 1½ hours from Geneva.
Footbridges, staircases, and slopes enable visitors to walk up to the top of the natural 40m waterfall and guided tour of the internal caves eroded by glaciers. Guided tours in English last for 40 minutes. On the grounds you will also find animated models of watermills, an oil mill, sawmill, and an iron forge. There are picnic tables, a restaurant, toilets, and a souvenir boutique.
Open April 23 to September 15 from 10h-17h30, July and August open 9h30-18h. Price: €7.-/adult, €5.-/age 6-12, under 6 free of charge. Note: Wear good shoes and warm clothing for the cave as the temperature is around 10°C.
— Musée Paccard
Bell Museum
215, rte de Piron
74320 Sévrier
France
0033/450 52 47 11
www.paccard.com
Directions: Pass through Annecy and take the RN508. At Sévrier/Le Brouillet roundabout follow signs to Musée Paccard. Free parking. About 1½ hours from Geneva.
Visit this bell-making factory founded in 1796. Over 100,000 bells have been commissioned here for international and national markets. Guided tours in English available or stroll through on your own. Video showing how they made a 20-ton bell, and find out about the history of the largest bell on earth: 33 tons! There is also a large musical display with bells.
Museum open year-round Monday to Saturday 10h-12h and 14h30-17h30, July and August till 18h30. Tours lasts one hour. Guided tour of the workshop open mid-April to mid-October: Saturdays 10h-12h and 14h30-17h30; Fridays, Sundays, and holidays only in the afternoons; 14h30-17h30 August daily, except Sunday mornings. Closed Christmas and January 1st.
Price: €5.50/adult, €4.-/age 6-18, family price available if French resident cardholder.
— Parc des Dronières
74350 Cruseilles
France
Directions: D1201 towards Annecy. Left at roundabout in Cruseilles towards the park. Pass the lake, then turn right. The parking lot is at the top of the hill next to the playground. 30 minutes.
Take the kids to see the deer, goats, geese, and other animals. A great place to stop off on the way to Annecy, the Parc has some nice short walks through the woods, a fun playground with picnic tables and some friendly and greedy animals waiting to be fed.
Fishing at the nearby lake possible. Snack-bar and restaurant at the Tennis Club. 
— Pont de la Caille
www.123savoie.com/article-33840-1-le-pont-de-la-caille.html
Directions: On the D1201 (rte de Genève) from Geneva towards Annecy, just after Cruseilles.
Make a pit-stop at the Pont de la Caille, a breathtaking, towered suspension bridge, 147m over the gorge of the River Usses. The mineral baths at the river level, well-known to ancient Romans, are no longer in use, but the spring is still active.
The original bridge was built in the 18th century, and is now in ruins. This was replaced with a new bridge in 1780 that collapsed in 1813. The present bridge, built in 1839, is now a pedestrian bridge (192m long). The adjacent cement bridge carries traffic (built 1929) and is 232m long over a single arch of 137½m, which is in the Guinness Book of World Records, and was renovated in 2009.
— Tactiq
0033/450 32 91 85
www.tactiqaventure.com
Tree climbing. Outdoor swimming pool open June through August. Offers canyoning in local rivers, VVT trails on the Salève mountain. Open April to October.
Price: Rates start at €14.-. Minimum size 1m10. Note: Cash only.
For lots more information on other great places to visit please go to pages 83-136 in Know-it-all passport® 2011/2012.
