The medieval town of Annecy is lovely and sits on the edge of what is known as the cleanest lake in Europe. After suffering many years of environmental degradation and pollution, new laws came into place in the 1960s and gradually transformed Lake Annecy into the crystal clear waters of today. 

Annecy (old town) itself is cute but a two hour destination at most. Stay farther down the lake to take full advantage. The nicer hotels are on the East side and perfect for an overnight stay (stay next to the water, or somewhere with easy access to it). On the West side, there’s lots of camping and a fun bike path that runs the entire length of the lake, reasonably flat. The area is a sporting paradise, waterskiing in the summer, kite surfing in the winter, hiking year round, winter snow skiing within 30 minutes. Important note: getting here can be very time consuming and difficult on public transportation. There are direct trains to Paris, and a less direct train to Geneva.

**Chateau de Menthon is a medieval castle overlooking the lake. It’s been through many renovations over the years, resulting in a bit of a melange of styles – call very “castle-y” and impressive. We have yet to tour the interior. From mid-November to early January there’s a big Christmas market, festive and with great views of the lake.

Stay at: 

• ***Abbaye de Talloires, Chemin des Moines, Talloire. It’s wonderful, Marc Chagal and Mark Twain stayed there, what more do you need? Restaurant was expensive and very good. The other two hotels next door (Hotel Cottage and La Villa de Rosas look nice as well).
• **Palace de Menthon, 665 Route des Bains, Menthon-Saint-Bernard: a classic grand hotel. We didn’t like it as much as the Abbaye, but it’s still pretty great and a bit more family-friendly, with a nice swimming area out front. Breakfast was a bit disappointing.