Annency

Assume you mean Annecy?
Without knowing the rest of your itinerary or what you like, it's hard to say.
It was a pleasant 2 hour or so stop on the Eastern France tour.

It is a pretty little town in a beautiful setting, but it has been well and truly discovered. The historic center was packed at the time of my 2017 visit. I'd want to take one of the boat trips on the lake and/or ride a bike along the lake rather than spending a great deal of time in town, at least during day-tripping hours.

Annecy, despite being near the Alps, can be very hot in the summer. If you're staying overnight at that time of year, I highly recommend an airconditioned hotel room.

I used to live nearby and would drive over to visit on occasion. Until I stopped.

It's one of those places that I would characterize as more trouble than it's worth; especially if you've seen alpine lake towns before.

We stayed there on our Italy/France trip. After Annecy, we stayed in Lyon & then Paris. For Annecy, I happened to get an excellent price for the cheapest room at L'Impérial Palace which is a gorgeous setting on the lake. It’s a 5-minute stroll along the lake promenade park to the busy center streets. We loved the setting & stopped over at a nearby boulangerie & tiny market shop for our breakfast ingredients.

We rented a boat & also rented bikes.

As a side note, we also loved Lyon. We stayed in the Vieux Lyon old historic section of the city.

Annecy is a place I've been wanting to visit for a long time. However, I don't like crowds. My strategies for crowds include visiting off/shoulder season and do an overnight. I don't know how much of an offseason Annecy has anymore, plus for me, I'd want the flowers, etc., that are probably most prevalent during the tourist season. It does seem like a place that many visit via day trip? If that's the case, I'd try to be sure to stay for a night or two to spend some time before and after the day trippers. I'm looking forward to the comments you will get.

Annecy is very picturesque with lots of interesting shops and restaurants. We've enjoyed staying there three times, most recently in 2024. That time it was in early May, so crowds were smaller but the streets were still full. If you're thinking of going in the peak tourist months, you should definitely take into account your attitude towards crowds. Crowds would not stop us from returning to Annecy but, as other posters have noted, it can be very off-putting for some. For us, crowds can be an enjoyable integral part of the experience (shopping in Le Marais, walking up Le Grand Rue on Mont St Michel, market day in Sarlat, watching "Joan of Arc" ride horseback through Orleans, etc.) Do what makes you happy.

Thank you to all who replied- Appreciate your comments and experiences. We plan to be there in late Sept/early Oct so I maybe crowds less of an issue. Our next stop on the way to Paris will be Lyon, then Arles. So grateful to learn from you all who have been there.

We spent 3 nights in Annecy at the end of a trip and flew home from Geneva. I thought it was magical. The flowers were breathtaking. We ate lunch at 1903 Bistro in Talloires on the lake. We took a boat ride around the lake. We rented e-bikes and rode the easy, level bike path to the tip of the lake and back. The market on Saturday was huge and wove throughout the lovely canals. We also did a day trip to Chamonix before we returned our car. Annecy was one of our favorite spots.

Bonjour,
Annecy should be quiet end of september as all kids will be back to school and the weather can still be very nice.
Easy to get from Paris by train
If you need more info, let me know as I live there!

We spent six days near Annecy in June a few years ago and loved it. We stayed in Menthon St Bernard (we had a car) and were lucky enough to have great weather. So we did a day trip to Chamonix, another to Megeve, and the other days in were spent in Annecy, Talloires, and surrounding villages up in the mountains, driving around the lake, and of course taking the cruise on the lake. Annecy was fairly crowded perhaps but certainly not uncomfortably so, and the whole area is just incredibly beautiful. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

I visited Annecy on a Tuesday in late October 2025, and it was uncomfortably crowded; I think that was because of school vacations (Toussaint). The crowds did dissipate after sunset.

We spent 4 nights in May a few years ago and did a day trip to Chamonix; COVID restrictions were just ending and transport like buses was still dicey, so it was not crowded. We had an apartment overlooking the central canal and it was just beautiful. A lovely place. I can imagine it would be awful with crowds -- still beautiful but a place to take photos and move on.

A pretty. place -- but less is more for travel IMHO and so it depends on how long your trip is. It is a place where one night would work -- or two.