Visiting Annecy, setting for the 18th stage of the Tour de France

A French city of art and history, Annecy is known for its natural beauty, architectural heritage, and overall good living.

The capital of the Haute-Savoie department was blessed with exceptional natural surroundings—it sits on the shore of Europe’s purest lake, looks up to the Aravis and Bauges mountains, and is only a short drive away from Switzerland and Italy. The Dukes of Savoie-Nemours made a wise choice in making Annecy their capital in the 15th century.

It remained the capital of Savoie until 1860, when the kingdom lost its independence to become French. Even today, 150 years later, a handful of harmless rebels whisper for independence every now and then!

Today, some of Annecy’s most characteristic monuments bear the mark of a long and complex history. The Palais de l’Ile, also known as the old prison, is surprisingly said to be France’s most photographed monument, even beating out the Eiffel Tower. After having served as a French prison, a mint, princely demure, wedding gift, court house, and insane asylum, the palace today houses a museum retracing Annecy’s architectural history.

Unbelievably, little is known about the origins of the chateau that guards the old city. As it sits at the coveted crossroads of the ancient paths to Italy and Switzerland, sieges and fires mark its history. Ownership changed hands more often than the ball at a Harlem Globtrotters game. Finally, the city of Annecy bought it in 1953 and turned it into a showroom for museum pieces from around the greater Annecy area.

Annecy cannot be called anything but cute and quaint. Try as hard as you might, one of the old worn out descriptions is bound to pop up. Annecy could be at the origin of these cliché descriptions, because that’s just what it is–charmingly cute.

Its canals lined with geranium-blasted balconies, brightly colored facades, and arched stone walkways have earned it the nickname “the Venice of the Alps.” But the city offers enough that it doesn’t even need a nickname. Just “Annecy” is good enough.

Jersey-France tunnel plan talks

Tunnelling to France

The idea of link to France is being discussed again, but this time a tunnel is being proposed.

There has been talk in the past about a bridge to France, and even the project engineer behind the Malmo Bridge between Denmark and Sweden has been to Jersey to talk about something similar here.

While that may seem like pie in the sky to some, there are others who feel a tunnel might be the answer.

Talks have started to see if there’s interest across the water in France.

The Assistant Minister for Planning and Environment, Deputy Rob Duhamel, was featured in the French newspaper Ouest-France recently and he is championing the idea. But are we looking at a tunnel or a bridge? Well, maybe both, according to Deputy Duhamel.