Annecy is a beautiful town on the edge of Lake Annecy, close to Geneva. It’s location means it’s surrounded by the French Alps, making it a great day out for seasonnaires looking to get away from the bubble of the ski resort. I love visiting Annecy and have done so many times in different seasons, but I think Spring is one of my favourites as the sun is warming up, flowers are starting to bloom and the trees are turning from brown to green. Summer is on the way!

Known as the ‘Venice of France’, Annecy has beautiful streets with cobbled alleyways lined with quaint independent shops, cafes, restaurants and gelato shops. The architecture is mesmerising along with the views down the river through the centre of the town.

I always start with an amble around the north end of the lake near the Gardens of Europe. This is a wide open, green space where loads of locals walk their dogs and when it’s warm you can grab a great picnic spot and enjoy the sunshine. I sometimes take my book and just chill for a bit. The walk to the old town is really close to the Gardens and you get some fantastic views of the lake and the snow capped mountains. You enter the main part of the old town along the Quai de Semnoz which runs alongside the river banks. There are sooo many bars and restaurants, the choice is almost overwhelming ranging from German themed to typical Savoyard.

I checked the HappyCow app and there is a new vegetarian cafe in Annecy. We usually pack a picnic but this time we decided to have lunch out for a treat. I’m quite surprised that there aren’t more vegan/vegetarian eateries in Annecy as it’s a busy town and a tourist hot spot. La P’tite Nana is located on Rue Sommeiller, right near the train station. It’s a nice little place with a cosy interior; it’s chic, yet comfortable. You can see that the owner has decorated it simply with rustic decor and the walls are lined with local art and antique pieces.

It’s a vegetarian cafe, but has many vegan options too. There is normally a hot special which you can have with salads or a choice of quiches which come with salads too at an extra price. I had the vegan quiche with 2 salads, one was lentil based and the other was chickpea based, they were both fresh tasting and delicious. Two quiches with salads and two coffees came to around €35. We were both too full at that time for a dessert but they did have vegan and non vegan cakes for pud.

After lunch time, the shops re-open and it’s a nice time to browse the local stores and maybe enjoy a little treat. Every  time I go to Annecy, I get myself an ice cream and tend to visit a different gelateria as there as so many! On this particular trip, we went to Glacier des Alpes which has an amazing choice of sorbets. I had a scoop of mango and raspberry and it was delish!

You can easily while away an afternoon sauntering around the town and if you take the Rampe du Château, then you can also get lovely views across the rooftops of Annecy. There are so many beautiful spots to just sit and enjoy the scenery and also watch the world go by. A Spring trip to Annecy breaks up the winter season and is such a nice place to stop by.

This was the view of the sunset from the top of Flaine on our drive back. Isn’t nature amazing?!