The Annecy Lake

The Annecy Lake is a lake in Haute-Savoie in France, being the countries third largest lake. It was formed about 18.000 years ago when the large alpine glaciers melted. Today the lake is fed by many small rivers from the surrounding mountains as well as from a powerful underwater source called the Boubioz.

The lake is located at a 447 meters high but it is overlooked at the highest point by the Tourette Mountain, a stunning summit shaped like an armchair at 2351 meters high.

Since 1957 there have been made tremendous efforts in cleaning the lake and keeping it clean from then onwards. The project started with the foundation of the SILA, the Intercity Syndicate for Lake Annecy whose main objective was the restoration of the water quality. It is now seen as an example area for environmental projects and has granted the lake a reputation of Europe’s cleanest lake.

The lake itself is surrounded by multiple cities as well as a mountainous landscape.

Therefore, it enables visitors to profit from a variety of activities. Watersports such as sailing, paddle boarding or scuba diving can be easily combined with hiking or cycling as well as cultural visits to castles, churches or museums.