Annecy, France suggestions

Gosh, a week in Annecy. I like Annecy but a couple of days would suffice, unless you plan to do day trips from there. In summer there are art installations at the lakeside but you'll be there in April ..... give this second thoughts.

I agree with Norma. Annecy was one of my favorite places in all of France and I recommend it to anybody who asks. However, especially in April, I probably wouldn't spend that much time there. Definitely work in some day trips while you are there or split your time between Annecy and another city.

Part of our plan is to visit quite picturesque towns in Europe and try to live a bit like a locals. However we are interested in seeing some sights but it doesn't look like there is that much to see here. Would it be more recommended to spend the first few days in Geneva and then take the trip to Annecy?

I think splitting your time between Annecy and Geneva would be a good idea. 2 or 3 days in Annecy with a day trip to another town would be plenty. Not sure about Chamonix in April but you could research it. Geneva's a bigger city so a bit more to see and do there, and you can day trip from there to other places around the lake such as Lausanne and Montreux (for Chillon castle).

We rented an apartment in Annecy for a week in April, without a car, and loved it. We did a lot of walking. and took some day trips by bus.

I would split your stay in Annecy and Geneva. Only about a 45 minute drive from each other. If you enjoy skiing/snowboarding/resort life, there are many mountains nearby to visit. Chamonix is a great day trip. Also Lyon is only an 1:45 minute drive from Annecy. Not sure if you are renting a car, but it would be very helpful. Annecy is a beautiful city and I spent a couple months there. I would just feel it out, if you are finding not too many things going on, Just move onto another city. I think a week is perfect though. Hope this helps!

We have not yet fully decided what the true plan will be as we are considering all options. We have less than a month away from our trip and we are still unsure. The reason is is that we fly standby with United so it's hard for us to make definite plans exactly what we will be doing. We also travel booking hotel through Priceline. The way we book hotels we bid on rooms which means that if you get something you can't cancel so there's a chance we may never even get on the flight to Geneva. But again we are still keeping all options open. I am still considering staying in Annecy for a week just to see what it would feel like to live in a small French town for a week. I know there is a gorge nearby and for part of the fun that we would have is just to simply sit people watch and enjoy life in a small town. Thanks again!

I'm amazed that no one has mentioned Lake Annecy -- http://www.france.fr/en/sites-and-monuments/lake-annecy.html. My only concern would be the weather that early in the year.

There are many options for current weather info online. This is a link to Annecy on Weather.com -- http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Annecy+France+FRXX0360:1:FR. It actually doesn't look too bad, even right now.

Most of the Google images pictures have obviously been taken in the summer (https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+annecy+france&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=799&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=lFT4VJ3wFtPaoASLloKoDw&ved=0CB0QsAQ&dpr=1).

There are some webcams to take a look at what it's like right now -- http://en.lac-annecy.com/webcams-108.htm. That same link can get you to much more info about Annecy.

We were there for a few days in late June, 2012 and loved every minute. We stayed right down town and walked everywhere. I would like to have stayed longer for the same reasons you listed.

We are not too much concerned with the weather as we just visited Florence around mid February. We would love to travel in the summer however do our work schedules with the summer camp we are booked up from end of May to 1 August. Then it's back to school. The WebCams are helpful it's good to see that there is some beautiful views.

We are going to keep researching over the next few days and hopefully make a decision. As it boils down to the day that we would depart if flights don't look good to Geneva we may totally scrap our plans and just head to Chester in England, as a second option as we are looking for old towns to visit.

Part of the fun of this trip will be traveling and ultimately not knowing exactly where we will end up and what we will do.

We spent a week in Annecy in early April several years ago, and it was beautiful. The blog I wrote while we were there includes a picture of the flowers in bloom: http://www.mainelywinenews.blogspot.com/2009/04/annecy-flower-village-and-recap.html