Enjoy one of the many beaches and a cold drink in one of the many lakeside restaurants and bars. Get yourself a nice villa lakeside or up the hills with either lake or mountain views. You can enjoy outdoor dining well into the night.

The lake is open for business

During August, lake Annecy is truly open for business.  From early morning swimming, afternoon dip or late evening water skiing, the lake got it all. All water sport shops are open for business all day. You can hire all kind of boats (including speedboats if you got a license), water skis and any other water sport equipment you can imagine. Swimming, waterskiing, wake boarding, sailing, kayaking and diving are amongst the most popular water sports.

Even if water sport is not your thing you can enjoy one of the many trail around and nearby the lake, perfect for cycling, hiking or even just a gentle walk. Remember it can get very hot during the day. Keep your activities for the morning or late afternoon. If you cycle or hike during the day, make sure you pick a shady spot and take plenty of water.

Fête du Lac and other small fêtes

The many villages along the lake come to live with fetes, festivals and weekly farmers markets. For one day in August the sheer splendour of Annecy’s lake and its backdrop are celebrated at the Fête du Lac. On the first Saturday of August , the bay of Albigny welcomes the biggest pyrotechnic show of Europe, with 80 minutes of fireworks in rhythm with music, lights, special effects. It is the kind of show that you have to see at least once in your life! There will be many smaller fetes around the lake and you will find something in the calendar on most days. If you are willing to make the effort you will be able to experience the traditional nature of this unique French region.

Lac d'Annecy fete

View lake Annecy through the air

Lake Annecy also boasts on of the world’s most famous hang- and paragliding sites. Both Talloires and Doussard are used as a base for many paragliding schools and tandem flight operators. Just pass the landing site in Doussard, have a drink, watch the spectacle unfold and make some enquiries. Your family and in particular your kids will love it.  It is a truly spectacular sight, watching all the colourful gliders in the sky. If you dare you can even enjoy a tandem flight for as little as 80 Euros.

My recommendations

Here my suggestions for lake Annecy activities during August:

• Relax lakeside in one of the many bars / restaurants – my favourites Chez Ma Cousin for evening dring or Chez Gerald (Bout du lake) for fish dinner.
• Visit the legendary Fête du Lac in Talloires
• Book an even cruse with one of the operators in Annecy (based next to the main canal just in front of the Old Town) and enjoy lake and mountains whilst having a meal on board.
• Visit the castle in Menthon St. Bernard and enjoy the stunning views over the lake
• Sunbath on one of the many beaches around the lake.
• Shop the many boutiques lining the narrow stone-paved streets alongside the canals in Annecy’s Old Town
• Visit one of the many weekly local farmers markets.
• Book a tandem paragliding flight from the top of Col De la Forclaz down to the landing site in Doussard.
• Book a late afternoon wakeboard  session with on of the local operators.
• Enjoy an early morning swim in one of the cleanest lakes in Europe.

hiking around lake Annecy

August is the time to sunbath, relax and enjoy all what the lake has to offer.  August is all the time for fetes around the lake. Enjoy the local hospitality. However all the activities on offer, combined with school holiday period makes lake Annecy rather busy during August.

If fresh water sports are your passion, you will be in for a real treat. From early morning swimming, afternoon sailing or late evening water skiing, the lake got it all. The entire region comes to live and there is an abundance of outlets providing you with whatever water sport equipment your might require. Waterskiing, wake boarding, sailing, kayaking and diving are amongst the most popular water sports. You can also hire all kind of boats including speedboats.

Even if water sport is not your thing you can enjoy one of the many trail around and nearby the lake, perfect for cycling, hiking or even just a gentle walk.

The many villages along the lake come to live with fetes, festivals and weekly farmers markets. You will find something in the calendar on most days and if you are willing to make the effort you will be able to experience the traditional nature of this unique French region.

Talloires lake front lake Annecy

Lake Annecy also boasts on of the world’s most famous hang- and paragliding sites. It is a truly spectacular sight, watching all the colourful gliders in the sky. If you dare you can even enjoy a tandem flight for as little as 80 Euros. Both Talloires and Doussard are used as a base for many paragliding schools and tandem flight operators. Just pass the landing site in Doussard, have a drink, watch the spectacle unfold and make some enquiries. Your family and in particular your kids will love it.

Here my suggestions for lake Annecy activities during July:

• Book an even cruse with one of the operators in Annecy (based next to the main canal just in front of the Old Town) and enjoy lake and mountains whilst having a meal on board.
• Shop the many boutiques lining the narrow stone-paved streets alongside the canals in Annecy’s Old Town
• Relax lakeside in one of the many bars / restaurants – my favourites Chez Ma Cousin for evening dring or Chez Gerald (Bout du lake) for fish dinner.
• Visit the four day long Noctibules festival in Annecy
• Visit one of the many weekly local farmers markets.
• Visit the castle in Menthon St. Bernard and enjoy the stunning views over the lake
• Book a tandem paragliding flight from the top of Col De la Forclaz down to the landing site in Doussard.
• Sunbath on one of the many beaches around the lake.
• Enjoy an early morning swim in one of the cleanest lakes in Europe.
• Book a late afternoon waterski session with on of the local operators.

walking near lake Annecy

July is the time to sunbath, relax and enjoy all what the lake has to offer. Use the first day of your holiday to drive around the lake and find out just how much there is to be done. July is all about enjoying summer lake activities without limits.

Now I am not a great fan of the Tour. Mainly because of its shameless commercialisation and the endless steam of doping scandals. However if you never seen the spectacle, which is the Tour de France, have a look . May be it is your thing. You certainly have to admire the riders and their endurance, crossing France over a 30 day period.

The Tour hits lake Annecy on Thuesday 23th July 2009 for a time trial around the lake.  Departure is from Annecy towards Sevrier, St Jorioz, Doussard, Talloires, Bluffy, Veyrier and finish in Annecy-le-Vieux. The approximately 40 km long route around the lake is certainly scenic but not too challenging. Talloires contains the only one difficulty of the lake with the climb of the Thoron until Bluffy and will be the ideal point to see the rider at their most pain!

My advice: if you are going to see the Tour de France on lake Annecy, reserve a place along the road the night before, stay there overnight and take plenty of food and drink. The road around lake Annecy will be completely blocked. Roads RD 909 A and RD 42 will be closed for circulation between 7 am and 9 pm. Dig in for 48 hours to enjoy a few minutes of riders passing by. That is what it takes to see  the Tour de France, not just on lake Annecy.

The Doussard market is held every Monday, I believe during summer season even twice a week.  The market does not attract a lot of vendors. Two or three fruit, vegetable, meat and cheese stalls each, some spice and sundries vendors and a few tacky cloths, accessory and gadget vendor these markets inevitably attract. It is a simple market and it lacks the pretends of the so called UK farmers markets and it beats the quality and prices hands down.

The fresh produce on offer is brilliant, loaded with  flavour and is very reasonably priced.  Today I bought some green beans at 2euro/kg, large beef tomatoes at 2.9euro/kg, bag fresh Spinach and some apricots from the South of France at 2euro/kg. I also bought a 350 lean cut of rump steak from the local farm (just put it on the BBQ and it did beat the steak I had last week in Gaucho Restaurant hands down – at a fraction of the price).  A little cheese and a stop off in the bakery for a fresh French stick and I was done.  Bought two days supply of meat, veg, cheese, fruit and bread for 13 euros, just over a tenner. Compare that to your local Tesco or your so called farmers market!!

The good news local markets take place at any time of the week in one of the village around lake Annecy, not just Doussard. I can highly recommend the one in the old town of Annecy on Saturday.

As always to get a feel what lake Annecy and Doussard got to offer you can visit my blog. To taste the produce you have to come out here.