Annecy or Limoges decision

I can help with Annecy, keeping in mind how subjective travel opinions are! I was there in mid- June 2025, after a RS My Way tour that ended in Chamonix. I know Annecy is a popular base for the surrounding region, since you'll have a car.
The historic pedestrianized area on the lake was really pretty- I stayed in the hotel (? name) right in the center and my view out the window was the Instagram classic! However, you would need to park your car somewhere for that.
On the weekend it was absolutely crowded- so very crowded just moving through the narrow streets was a challenge. I was there two nights. Monday was marginally better, but still.
I rented a bike to ride along the lake.
Touring the historic area doesn't take long, I followed the RS self- walking tour early one of the mornings in about an hour.
Caveat- I walked from the train/bus station so only saw the part of the city between there and the historic area. With an early start (advised!) to see its charms without your car, in my opinion one full day would be just right.
Chamonix was beautiful and a suggestion. I went to Lyon from Annecy and if you haven't been yet suggest that, too!
I hope this helps a little and happy planning!

Thanks Bon Voyage.

I've read it gets busy but had no personal input on that point. This may mean that if we go then its a day visit rather than basing ourselves there.

I'll have a read up about your other suggestions- cheers!

There's too many places to chose from!

We spent several days in Annecy a few years ago, but we chose to stay in a différent town along the lake, Menthon St Bernard, to avoid crowds and because we didn’t especially love any of the hotels in Annecy. This worked out very well. It’s a lovely town with a very pretty waterfront with a cafe. It made it easier to visit other places, including Chamonix and Megeve , and to drive the circumference of the lake (had a very good lunch in a little place near the Semnoz, for example) and up into the hills around the lake to visit local villages.

Have only driven through Limoges, so can’t offer an opinion. It is close to Oradour sur Glane, a town burned by the Nazis in the days after D Day and carefully preserved by the French as a reminder of the horrors of war. It is searing.

We have never been to Limoges so this is not a fair comparison. We were in Annecy the later part of April this year. I would go back there in a heartbeat!!! I loved EVERYTHING about it! The food, the lake, the parks, the little grocery stores, the street market, the people and the hotel we stayed in (Allobroges Park Hotel). This hotel has a covered area with tables and chairs surrounded by plants and trees. The front desk employees are lovely and the breakfast is scrumptious. We had an amazing lunch/ dinner at Le Chalet. Waiter was a little short on English but we were short on French so with pointing fingers at menu and smiles we did just fine.

I'm always amazed when I read comments from people who like Annecy. I used to live in the area and every trip there was profoundly underwhelming; made all the more irritating by the traffic and tourist jams in summer. If you've ever visited or lived near towns adjacent to alpine lakes, the town of Annecy provides nothing new. It just provides what it provides with seemingly endless crowds.

Limoges, to be honest, isn't a great stop, either. Probably its greatest asset to a traveler is its proximity to Oradour-sur-Glane. This town and its related museum are definitely worth a measured, profound, thoughtful visit. Sadly, the world continues to create such towns in geographically disparate locations. under pressure from armed conflict.

Annecy and Limoges are so completely worlds apart that I wonder what could cause this dilemma.

Annecy is frequently the subject of documentaries and press articles in France reporting on residents being fed up due to tourist crowds, noise, the cost of living, traditional local shops being replaced by ice cream parlors or souvenir shops, and the impossibility of finding housing since available properties are turned into Airbnbs.

Meanwhile, Limoges tends to wait desperately for tourists other than porcelain enthusiasts or those who took the wrong highway exit to come visit. It is an authentic French city, but there's just one tiny problem: nobody goes there on vacation. :-)

Personally, even though I love the Alpine region, Annecy isn't for me the real authentic Alps, but rather a kind of Disneyland. And although I'm not a fan of quality porcelain, if I had to choose between these two bad options, I might as well go with Limoges, at least there you meet real people who don't have a cash register for a brain.

The solution would be to create a system that would vacuum up half of Annecy's crowds and send them over to Limoges. Everyone would be happy. Annecy residents would get back a more or less normal life, and the people of Limoges would be a bit less depressed...

This wasn't mentioned by you, but have you considered spending your time in France in the Dordogne region? There is so much to see and do there. Two beautiful rivers, castles, prehistoric and early medieval ruins, exceptional regional food, river rafting or kayaking, gardens and chateaux, history (Hundred Years War), stunning natural beauty....a real jewel of an area!
Just a thought.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I'm aware that they are wildly different locations and therefore holidays, and I think thats what makes the decision hard. Not comparing apples and apples.

Not overly keen on mass crowds so make shelve Annecy.

Honestly a recommendation for anywhere would be great. I'm going slightly mad reading up on wonderful places and trying to decide!

To give you an idea of how diverse we are, in the last few years we have covered Normandy, been to Lille, Reims, Epernay and Saint Omer. And stopped in the small town of Bethune.

Judy - where in Dordogne would you suggest?

If you skip Annecy, be careful not to fall into the same trap of going to Sarlat (which will undoubtedly be recommended to you here).

Sarlat is our own version of Annecy, complete with parking and traffic headaches and tourist shops, though perhaps to a lesser extent.

While Sarlat was put on the map by Rick Steves, any European traveler knows that the region with its castles, caves, villages, and rivers also encompasses the Quercy (the Lot and Corrèze departements).

I made a map just in case:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1OdPOg8AgsNn0Jlv1cNHkujaWv9p_Jpc&usp=sharing

kmole75,
I would definitely not stay in Sarlat, but would go there at least one day to walk around the town and enjoy its market (Wed. or Sat. are the big ones). When we were there (7 in the family, for 10 days, 2 rented cars) I rented a large gite with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths on large grounds, with a pool, between La Roque Gageac and Vitrac. You should be able to find a nice, smaller accommodation in one of the many charming small towns in the greater region. Check out gites-de-france, a company that predates AirBandB and is a reliable company for such. There are hotels in many of the towns, but we preferred the ambience of a rental and having some of our dinners there, as well as going to the nearby village bakery for our morning croissants. Everywhere we went was within a half-hour drive. Check a map of the region (also known as the Perigord) for an overall picture. We spent 10 days there and drove each day (shortish drives). What we did and/or saw: Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Beynac Castle, Sarlat Wed. market, Lascaux IV prehistoric cave (fabulous reproduction and attached learning center), Font de Gaume cave, a Dordogne River kayak trip, the village of Domme, Abri de la Madeleine, a savonerie, a chocolaterie. We alas didn't even have time for some other places we wanted to go, such as Marqueyssac gardens, Chateau de Milandes (Josephine Baker's house), a goose farm, a walnut farm tour, a winery visit with tasting, and several of "Les plus beaux villages de France". We didn't get to the eastern part of the area either. You might mine the forum for comments on the Dordogne, as well as what the guidebooks say about it. Rick has an episode about the Dordogne which will whet your appetite. (By the way, the one castle I wouldn't bother with is Rocamadour...over touristed and the town below the hill is less than charming.)
Just some background...Hubby spent his boyhood in France right after WWII, living in Le Havre and Marseille. Still has family in France. Over the years he has been to most areas of France, and I have been to several. At the top section of both our lists, with Paris, Brittany and Provence, of course, is the Dordogne region. Just the view of the river from either Beynac Castle or Castelnaud-la-Chapelle is worth the journey there. It is a beautiful land, packed with thousands of years of history on display, a variety of sights and activities and last, but not least, fantastic cuisine! (Also, just a three hour drive from Bordeaux, worth a full three or four days itself, if you have time.)

Annecy itself may be crowded, but the lake and the region are wonderful and not too crowded. No comparison vs humdrum Limoges, in my opinion! The most interesting thing in Limoges is the train station, and it's a bit far from the scenic parts of Limousin and Périgord to make for good day trips.