I have wanted to go to Annecy for so long! It was on my map of places to go the first time I did a roadtrip around France and I never quite managed it, so this time I made sure to go.
Sundays were always a little difficult in France (or Italy for that matter). A lot of shops and places didn't open on Sundays like they do in London or Sydney, so I did wonder what I would encounter this Sunday. But, of all things, it turned out that the markets were on in Annecy and the place was packed and bustling!
I parked the campervan quite a bit outside the centre of town even before I knew that it was market day - I figured there wouldn't be a lot of parking in closer, and I just wanted to leave it somewhere easy. I walked about a kilometre along the edge of the Lac d'Annecy and the marina.
As I got to the edge of town, I was immediately struck by how pretty it was. There were little canals through the town, flower boxes everywhere, and it was so colourful in the bright sunshine.
After milling about on the outskirts of town, I head into the densely-packed throng through the market.
It was an amazing market, I don't think I have ever been to a better one. There were stalls selling everything and the market went through the entire town. I decided then and there to do my shopping for dinner and bought a variety of different things - wontons and noodles from a Vietnamese stall, the most delicious rockmelon I've ever eaten, artisan bread, tomatoes and some other veg, strawberries, and so on. Everything looked delicious. There was also clothing and homeware stalls selling almost everything you could want!
I was totally laden down with goodies that I went to a store and bought a straw basket to carry it all back to my camper. I walked back to where it was parked, stored everything and went back to town again! I hadn't even started exploring the town properly!
I ducked back to the markets and bought a sandwich, then went to the park to sit on a bench and eat it. It was such a lovely day - warm but not hot, with brilliant blue skies, and I sat and watched people bustling around getting on and off boats that toured the lake. Sandwich eaten, it was time for one last look then back to the camper.
I didn't really want to leave the area because I was enjoying it so much, so I followed signs that went to a chateau about 12km away. This was the Chateau de Menthon-Saint-Bernard. It looked interesting online so I decided to go and have a look around. They only ran tours in French, however, but as it was the only way to view the inside, I joined up. I had no idea what they were saying most of the time, but my experience of nodding at my high school chemistry teacher when I didn't know what he was on about came in handy... I might have seemed like I was listening TOO much, as they started directing a lot of the commentary towards me. Little do they know....
It was pretty inside, and privately owned too, which I always find incredible.
I left the chateau just after 3pm, and then sat in the camper looking for a site to go to. Annecy was quite a touristy area and I wanted something quiet away from all that. So I drove about an hour to a campsite in a small village called Albens. The site itself was very simple, but it was what I always look for - nothing fancy, just clean, good amenities, some shade and peace and quiet! I parked the camper then settled in for the night.
Campsite: Camping le Beausejour
Rating: 8/10. Polite and friendly staff, cheap, good amenities and within walking distance of the village... though being a Sunday, nothing was open!