My mother and I have 4 nights to play with and was wondering if it's best to base ourselves at Annecy or Chamonix? Mum is unable to do anything majorly strenuous so thinking Annecy may be better? Thoughts?
Posted by
OP
5 posts
We will be there first week of October. It's our last stop before we fly home...
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Yes, with a disabled relative I'd pick Annecy. Chamonix doesn't have much to do apart from fairly strenuous walking and other mountain sports.
Posted by
59 posts
Just got back from both. Both require walking we did 5 to 6 miles a day. Annecy has lakeside parks. A tour boat ride. Shops and window shopping. Charmonix has ski lifts. It has mountains right there in your face. Aguille de midi overpriced and altitude sickness. Shopping and window shopping is about the same. Charmonix is more sports oriented but you could drive on some pretty exciting mountain roads! We liked Grenoble too.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
When we were last in Annecy, there was an interesting art installation on the edge of the lake. It may be an annual thing .... don’t really know.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1864 posts
We spent one night in each September, 2018. We went to Chamonix because we wanted to do the Aiguille du Midi "step into the void" experience, but it was closed due to a frayed cable. There really wasn't much else to do there besides admire Mount Blanc or shop if you enjoy that.
Annecy was more interesting -- we enjoyed walking around the Sunday market, the lakeside park, and the boat ride. However, I am not sure what you would do there for four days. Where is your departing flight? Maybe there is another site near that city that would be interesting.
We stayed at the Imperial Palace Hotel. Although it's a bit expensive, we really enjoyed staying there. We booked one of the less expensive rooms but they gave us a free upgrade to a room at the center facing the lake. Valet parking is included. The hotel has a pleasant restaurant with an outdoor terrace.
Posted by
Washington DC
28090 posts
I enjoyed Annecy; it's very pretty, and the boat ride on the lake is a nice rest for the feet. However, the town is extremely touristy. It can also be surprisingly hot in the summer. I think 4 nights is at least one night too long unless you truly want to veg out and can find affordable lodgings with a lake view.