Plan a family trip by bike around France's Lake Annecy

25.01.2024 - 18:49 / lonelyplanet.com / Nicola Williams

In Lonely Plan-It, we take you step by step through how we planned some of the most complicated travel adventures. Here, Nicola Williams explains how she tackled one of the most mythical cycling routes in the French Alps with her tween daughter.

When it comes to inspiring outdoor action and ridiculously good-looking alpine scenery in spades, looping Lake Annecy on two wheels is up there with the other highly desired greats in the French Alps. The glittering kaleidoscope of craggy peaks, flower-spun villages and beach-crusted shore that unfurls as you spin around Annecy’s exquisite pool of wild water is cinematic: think the sort of giddy, spontaneous exuberance that makes you want to toss your hat in the air, ting your bike bell and thank your lucky stars for French joie de vivre.

The seductive allure of Lake Annecy (Lac d’Annecy in French) is no secret. Europe’s purportedly cleanest lake was made great by the medieval Counts of Geneva and was an indispensable entry in the little black book of 19th-century queens, kings, artists and flaneurs. Annecy’s canal-sculpted old town is picture-postcard cuteness on Venetian-esque steroids, and Parisian A-listers craving a chic rural escape can’t get enough of its namesake lake luxuriantly cloaked in the velvety green mountain ranges of Bauges, Bornes and Aravis.

It wasn’t without some trepidation that we arrived in Annecy town on a dry day in March to attempt the 42km-route (26 miles, elevation gain 300m/984ft, 3–4 hours excluding stops) around the emerald lake en famille. We honestly weren’t sure our youngest, aged 12, would be able to complete Annecy’s iconic Tour du Lac, but opted for the tried-and-tested parenting method of “keep quiet and lead by doing.” The odds were certainly in our favor. Unlike dodging snow bridges down Chamonix’s Vallée Blanche off-piste ski descent or dedicating days to encircling Mont Blanc on foot, this French Alps bucket-list entry requires no superhuman strength, technical skill or mindset. Pretty much anyone, young children included, can pedal around Lake Annecy’s pristine shores. This is how we did it.

April to June and September are best

Battling relentless headwinds or driving rain in the saddle is definitely not conducive to a successful family day out. Check the weather forecast and choose a dry, still day. Spring, early summer and September are usually pleasantly warm, without July and August’s huge crowds. Weekdays are less busy than weekends when local cycling enthusiasts join the throng of freewheelers spinning around the lake.

Classic road and e-bikes both work

Our entire lake-to-lake train journey from Geneva to Annecy was spent debating the pros and cons of old-school versus new-school wheels, if we should power up