The Renaissance front
A sixteenth-century church in the old town's heart.
Krzysztof Golik — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chabe01 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0
Annecy's cathedral is a sixteenth-century church with a quiet Renaissance front in the old town's heart, steps from the famous coloured canals. Its history exceeds its size: it was a temporary seat of the Geneva bishopric after the Reformation drove the Catholics out — making Annecy a little "Rome of Savoy", where Saint Francis de Sales served. It holds a musical memory too: the young Jean-Jacques Rousseau sang in its choir when he lived in Annecy as a youth. A short visit completing a wander of the old town — Annecy's lanes, canals and lake are the star, the cathedral a stop on the way.
A sixteenth-century church in the old town's heart.
Seat of the exiled Geneva bishopric — history beyond its size.
rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 74000 Annecy
Palais de l'IsleThe Palais de l'Isle is the image of Annecy the world knows: a twelfth-century s2 minutes walk4.6
Church of Saint-MauriceAnnecy's oldest church, built in the fifteenth century for the Dominican friars 2 minutes walk4.4
Château d'AnnecyThe castle of Annecy sits on its rock directly above the old town, home to the c3 minutes walk4.2
Church of Saint-FrançoisIt stands on the bank of the Thiou canal directly opposite the **Palais de l'Île3 minutes walk4.5
Jardins de l'EuropeThe Jardins de l'Europe are a green tongue between the lake and the Thiou canal'5 minutes walk4.7The old town itself: its coloured canals, the Palais de l'Île in midwater, and its turquoise lake, Europe's cleanest. The cathedral and churches are pleasant stops, but the magic is walking the canals and sitting by the lake.