Visiting Annecy, France: Top Sights on Foot

Annecy is a French city where a medieval old town meets the River Thiou and the shores of Lake Annecy. Its hilltop castle, historic churches, island fortress and lakeside gardens make it worth exploring on foot. Neywo has a free audio guide for Annecy with 69 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

Part of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France, Annecy brings together medieval heritage, religious history, archaeology and peaceful waterfront spaces. The city is also a good starting point for discovering other destinations in the region, including Chamonix and Grenoble.

What to see in Annecy

Château d’Annecy and the Museum-Castle

The Château d’Annecy stands above the old town, where its hilltop position once gave the fortress a commanding view. It began as a fortified stronghold in the twelfth century and later became the residence of the Counts of Geneva, followed by the Dukes of Savoy and the Dukes of Savoy-Nemours.

Its oldest surviving section is the Tour de la Reine, or Queen’s Tower, whose walls are four metres thick. The castle was remodeled several times during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, then damaged by fires and abandoned as a noble residence. It served as military barracks until 1947.

Annecy bought the property in 1953 and restored it as the musée-château d’Annecy. The museum’s sections include the Logis Vieux, Logis Nemours and Logis Perrière. The castle complex also houses the Regional Observatory of the Alpine Lakes, located in the tower and the Logis Perrière.

Palais de l’Isle

The Palais de l’Isle is one of Annecy’s most recognizable sights: a triangular stone building standing on an island in the River Thiou. Its shape follows the island itself, dividing the river into two narrow canals.

The building began in the twelfth century as a fortified house for Annecy’s castellan and later became an administrative center for the Counts of Geneva. Over time, it served as a courthouse, mint, barracks, land registry, warehouse and old-age home. It was also used as a prison until 1865 and again during the Second World War.

Two footbridges lead to the entrance courtyard, beside a four-sided tower containing a fifteenth-century spiral staircase. Locals still call the building the Old Prisons, while its official name remains the Palais de l’Isle.

Saint Peter’s Cathedral

Saint Peter’s Cathedral began in the early sixteenth century as a chapel for a Franciscan priory. It later became a refuge for Catholic families fleeing Calvinist Geneva and the episcopal seat of Saint Francis de Sales.

The French Revolution temporarily transformed the building into a Temple of the Goddess of Reason. It returned to religious use after Napoleon’s rise and became a cathedral in 1822, when the Diocese of Annecy was created from part of the Diocese of Chambéry.

Its façade dates from 1535 and combines Renaissance details with a Gothic rose window. Inside, the basilica plan has three naves arranged across five bays, with stained-glass windows bringing light into the space.

Église Saint-Maurice

Église Saint-Maurice is Annecy’s oldest church. It was built for a Dominican convent from 1422 and consecrated in 1445 under the name of Saint Dominic, although construction was not yet complete.

The church is an example of Savoyard Gothic architecture. From 1478, noble families and artisan guilds added private chapels along the nave, creating its distinctive lower side sections. One of its notable details is a fifteenth-century trompe-l’œil painting beside the choir.

During the French Revolution, the church was seized, looted and used as a grain market. It also served as a stable before being returned to worship after the Concordat of 1803.

Saint-François-de-Sales church

Located beside the Thiou in the old town, Saint-François-de-Sales church is also known as the Church of the Italians. Built in 1614, it became an important pilgrimage destination because the bodies of Jeanne de Chantal and Francis de Sales were once kept there. Their remains were later moved to the Basilica of the Visitation.

The building has Lombard and Baroque influences. Its two-level façade and triangular pediment were adapted from the Church of the Gesù in Rome. After the Revolution, the church was used as a barracks, a factory and workshops before being restored to religious use after the Great War.

Château de Novel

Château de Novel, or Manoir de Novel, is one of Annecy’s oldest surviving buildings. Located in the Novel district, it began as a twelfth-century fortified house, or maison forte.

The original façades and roof remain. They have been protected as historic monuments since 1975, preserving the medieval character of this rare building.

Château de Promery

Château de Promery is a fourteenth-century fortified house. Built as a maison forte, it was designed for both residence and defense. Its stone walls have endured for more than six centuries of Savoyard history.

Grand Séminaire d’Annecy

The Grand Séminaire was built between 1684 and 1688 to train priests for the Diocese of Geneva and later the Diocese of Annecy. Its façades and rooflines have been protected as historic monuments since 1974.

Today, the Department of Haute-Savoie owns the building and has transformed it into the Conservatory of Art and History. Its collections include mountain imagery by Paul Payot, works by Baron Chastel, alpine music from the Jacquier collection, and paintings by George Hermann and Yves Mairot. The collection also includes engravings, lithographs and contemporary paintings acquired since 1975.

European Gardens and the statue of Claude Louis Berthollet

The European Gardens stretch along the shore of Lake Annecy. Among the park’s landmarks is a bronze statue of Claude Louis Berthollet, a French chemist and native of the region.

Created by Carlo Marochetti, the statue stands on a stone pedestal decorated with four bronze bas-reliefs. They depict episodes from Berthollet’s life, including his arrival in Paris, his connection with the Duke of Orleans, his expedition to Egypt with Napoleon and a moment with the scientist Gaspard Monge.

The monument was first installed on the Promenade du Pâquier in 1843 and moved to the European Gardens in 1863. It was seized by German occupation forces in 1944 during the Second World War, but was later returned.

Archaeological sites around the lake

Annecy’s heritage extends beyond its medieval center. The Site archéologique du Pâquier marks an ancient settlement uncovered at the Pâquier, while the Site sublacustre du Petit Port is an underwater archaeological site on the shores of Lake Annecy, in Annecy-le-Vieux.

The former Saint-Laurent church in Annecy-le-Vieux is another reminder of the area’s earlier history. Only its Romanesque bell tower survives from the former Notre-Dame church. Built in the twelfth century, the tower has thick walls and rounded arches. It was shared by Notre-Dame and Saint-Laurent, and survived the destruction of both churches during the French Revolution.

Annecy war memorial

The Annecy war memorial, known locally as the Monument aux combattants, stands in Haute-Savoie to honor those who fell in the service of their country. It is one of the city’s places of remembrance and forms part of its more recent history.

Explore Annecy with a self-guided audio tour

Neywo offers two walking tours, one bus route and one bike route in Annecy. Together, they cover the old town, the castle hill, the lakeside gardens and the shores of Lake Annecy:

• “Venice of the Alps: Castle, Canals and Lakeside Gardens”: a 1.96 km walk lasting 98 minutes, with 11 narrated stops.
• “Imperial Lakeshore to the Salesian Hill”: a 4.02 km walk lasting 96 minutes, with 8 narrated stops.
• “Line 26: Lakeside Arts Centre to the Castle Hill”: a 2.2 km bus route lasting 9 minutes, with 4 narrated stops.
• “Lake Annecy Cycle Path: Old Town to Petit-Port”: a 2.3 km bike route lasting 12 minutes, with 5 narrated stops.

Download Neywo and explore Annecy independently. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule.