La Belle France
Annecy is a dazzling historic centre, criss-crossed by canals, morning markets and a lakeside setting it really is truly magical.
-
France
7 nights
Half Board
-
May
Sep
Tour codes: 50300
Explore the world at a slower pace...
Call us on 01707 817311
Or, email us at [email protected]
Call us on 01707 817311
Or, email us at [email protected]
Annecy is a dazzling historic centre, criss-crossed by canals, morning markets and a lakeside setting it really is truly magical.
France
May
Sep
Tour codes: 50300
This holiday includes an active sightseeing programme with unchallenging walks, either city tours or strolls on relatively easy terrain in the surrounding countryside. If in a mountainous area, the walks will be amongst the hills rather than up and down them. Local guides, winery visits, traditional villages and time to pause and watch the locals going about their lives are likely to feature.
Overview
Our holiday is based in the beautiful town of Annecy, located in the Haute Savoie department of south east France, it offers beautiful scenic walking at a gentle and relaxed pace in addition to great sightseeing and a town retreat. It is situated on the edge of the beautiful turquoise Lac d’Annecy (which could all too often be mistaken for the beautiful shores of the Cote d’Azur); to the south it is surrounded by the lofty ridge of Le Semnoz and to the east lined by the peaks of the Bornes Massif the most spectacular of which is La Tournette.
Annecy could so easily be described as a fairytale setting. With its canal running through the centre next to its narrow little streets, the old prison (now a local museum) which still sits in the middle of the canal, and its castle overlooking the town from the hilltop. It offers some great ‘Kodak Moments’! It is a great centre which has a wonderful historic charm; it has often been described as one of the most beautiful towns in the French Alps, making it a great place to enjoy sociable evenings, with good food and wine.
We will have private transfers to take us up to parts of the mountains which offer the best gentle and sensationally scenic walking, we will enjoy a delightful boat journey around Lac d’Annecy, in addition to time spent just ambling around and exploring our surroundings.
If you long for the delights of scenic France, but with the relaxation of mountain air and gentle walking, and the varied hues of the lakes, then this is the holiday for you!
Click the button below for a detailed Holiday Information Sheet containing all the particulars about this trip.
NOTE: Itineraries and Holiday Information Sheets can vary by a specific date chosen
Chinon is on the River Vienne, a few miles of gently meandering curves away from where it meets the Loire. Here are cream-coloured stone buildings, turrets, half-timbered façades and riverside promenades. This is the rich land of wine and food, of castles and kings, producing some of the Loire’s best wine.
Departure dates
This holiday includes an active sightseeing programme with unchallenging walks, either city tours or strolls on relatively easy terrain in the surrounding countryside. If in a mountainous area, the walks will be amongst the hills rather than up and down them. Local guides, winery visits, traditional villages and time to pause and watch the locals going about their lives are likely to feature.
This holiday includes an active sightseeing programme with unchallenging walks, either city tours or strolls on relatively easy terrain in the surrounding countryside. If in a mountainous area, the walks will be amongst the hills rather than up and down them. Local guides, winery visits, traditional villages and time to pause and watch the locals going about their lives are likely to feature.
This holiday includes an active sightseeing programme with unchallenging walks, either city tours or strolls on relatively easy terrain in the surrounding countryside. If in a mountainous area, the walks will be amongst the hills rather than up and down them. Local guides, winery visits, traditional villages and time to pause and watch the locals going about their lives are likely to feature.
Itinerary & Travel
Whilst every effort will be made to adhere to the outlined itinerary and advertised programme, local conditions can change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. This may mean that routes and timings need to be amended or the order of days may change, sometimes at short notice. All local transport costs, entrance fees and tipping to local providers are included in the cost of your holiday.
Accommodation
Below is a summary of the accommodation featured on this holiday across all departure dates. Please refer to the Itinerary for more detail about each night's accommodation for each departure date.
Annecy is a wonderful town, and an idyllic base for our Haute Savoie holiday. The town has plenty of bars and restaurants to visit in the evening. It is also a lovely place to have a stroll through when dusk is turning into night and the canal and museum are lit up, truly endearing!
Our hotel is a couple of minutes’ walk away from a supermarket, bakers and plenty of other small shops. There is a bank, post office and several cashpoints. There is also a delightful food market each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday - the perfect place to pick up some essential picnic fillings and other intriguing items.
The three star Hotel Splendid is located opposite the canal in the heart of the historic quarter of Annecy, making it perfect for those of you who seek to explore Annecy in your own time. Recently renovated it offers great comfort and style, a great place to relax after exploring the town.
The bedrooms and public rooms alike are modern and comfortable.
Hotel room facilities include:
Trip Information
All Adagio holidays are expertly designed to allow you to immerse yourself in the destination. Leisurely exploration of the must-see, as well as lesser known, highlights together with relaxed enjoyment of local food and wines is what we have in mind.
There may be days of sightseeing on foot around a spectacular city or unchallenging strolls on easy terrain in open countryside interspersed with winery visits, guided tours, boat trips, cafe stops and traditional restaurants.
We use a mix of privately hired vehicles, taxis, and public transport which gives us some flexibility in our itinerary. We have a wonderful programme of walking, sightseeing and visits planned to let you fully experience the area along with opportunities to relax at our wonderful hotel and enjoy your surroundings.
Holiday Budgeting
Local transport costs, entrance fees and tips to local providers are included in your holiday price. You may wish to budget for any meals and drinks not included in the holiday arrangements, non-included entrance fees and any optional excursions you may choose to participate in locally. A general guideline for lunches and drinks is £10-£20 per person per day.
Local Transport Costs
All local transport costs in conjunction with the advertised activity programme are included in the holiday cost. There may be occasions where additional visits or excursions are added to enrich your experience, these will be paid for locally by you if you choose to participate. Local transport can be a mix of private hire coaches, taxis, local buses and ferries depending on the itinerary.
Country Currency
The currency in France is the euro.
Credit cards are widely accepted. You may be asked to provide ID if you can’t pay by chip and PIN. ATMs are widely available in most towns and villages throughout France.
Tipping
We include tips in the holiday cost and your Adagio Leader will take care of making sure tips are given to hotel and restaurant staff and to local guides and drivers. If you feel that someone has gone out of their way to make your holiday enjoyable or help you in anyway, please feel free to give a personal tip to the person should you wish. If you are having an independent lunch or other service not included in the holiday arrangements, tipping is at your own discretion.
Group Size
We believe that the best things come in small packages, and our Adagio holidays prove just that. We limit our groups to a maximum of 18 persons, plus the Adagio Leader, so that everyone has the opportunity to mix, share their love of travel and return home with new friendships. Small groups also have less detrimental local impact, allows us to use public transport on some days, eat at small local restaurants and, we believe, offers a better experience.
Your Leader
An Adagio Leader will accompany you throughout the holiday. They are all experienced travellers with a love for exploring and will help capture the true essence of the destination with their stories, knowledge and insights. They are well-organised, pay great attention to detail and enjoy being with people. They are there to help make your holiday as enjoyable and stress free as possible.
Leaders Evening Briefing
Your Adagio Leader will discuss the programme for the following day with the group at each evening briefing. This will be your opportunity to find out more details and ensure the planned activities suit your walking ability. Also, if you have any questions or concerns on clothing or lunch arrangements, this can be discussed then. If you wish to opt out of the organised group programme, this is fine, just let your Leader know.
Getting to your Holiday
Clients who are flying to Geneva:
We fly from London Heathrow to Geneva and return with British Airways. The flight is approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. On arrival we will have a private coach transfer to Annecy which will take approximately one hour.
During the week we’ll travel on foot, by train, road and boat for our walking program.
Clients who are traveling by train to Annecy:
As our hotel is only a short 10 minute walk from the station we are not providing transfers for passengers arriving by rail. There are often taxis waiting outside the station and you can expect the cost to be in the region of €15 (Summer 2020) each way.
On your journey through Paris you will need to change railway station to Paris Gare de Lyon. This transfer is not included, but it is simple. The easiest and quickest way is to take the RER D metro line costing approximately €5 (Summer 2020) and takes around 15 minutes. The other method is to take a taxi from any number of taxis ranks outside Paris Gare de Nord for approximately €15 (Summer 2020), however this will most likely take around half an hour.
During the week we’ll travel on foot, by train, road and boat for our walking program.
Booking Your Own Travel Arrangements
If you wish to organise your own flights from either a non-UK or UK regional airport, or travel by rail or car to your holiday destination, 'land only' reductions are often available. If you choose to do this, before finalising any independent travel arrangements, please check with us first - especially if doing so 12 weeks or more before your intended date of travel. If you do intend to join your holiday locally please do tell us at least 14 weeks in advance.
If you are joining and leaving your holiday overseas we assume, unless you advise us otherwise, that you will join and leave the holiday at the hotel. Although airport/train station transfers are not included for those making their own independent travel arrangements, if you wish to join the group at the overseas airport/train station, depending on your flight/train arrival time, you may be able to be included on the group's transfer. Please contact us at least 5 weeks before departure for more details.
Please note that your flight/train must arrive within 30 minutes of the group flight/train to be able to join the group transfer. We also need your flight/train number, arrival time and departure point so that your Adagio Leader is able to meet up with you.
Luggage Allowance & Tickets
When booking a flight or rail inclusive holiday with us, details of your travel arrangements and baggage allowance will be confirmed in your travel documents, sent to you approximately 10 days prior to departure.
Personal Details Check
Please ensure that the personal details we have on file for you are up to date and that you have provided the information we need to secure your holiday travel and accommodation arrangements.
Please check your passport details, date of birth and any other important details necessary for us to accurately manage your holiday booking are correct at the time of booking (including health and dietry requirements). You can view and update information already provided, and add details not yet asked for, by using the Manage My Booking facility on our website www.adagio.co.uk, or by calling our Sales and Reservations team on +44 (0)1707 386700. When you receive your booking confirmation please check the details as soon as possible.
General Passport Advice
It is a good idea to carry photocopies of the personal details pages of your passport page (with your photo on). Should you lose your passport, this may assist with the issue of replacement documents and your return to your home country. Passport and visa requirements can change at any time. It is your own responsibility to ensure that you inform yourself from a professionally qualified source on, and comply with, such requirements.
General travel and destination advice for UK nationals is available from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at www.fco.gov.uk/travel and at www.gov.uk/travelaware.
Brexit Passport Advice
If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must meet the Schengen area rules.
Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:
The guidance for Schengen border guards may not be updated until the spring of 2022. Until then, for some Schengen countries your passport may need to be less than 10 years old during your whole visit, and the 3 months at the end of your visit may need to be within 10 years of your passport’s issue date.
Check both the issue date and the expiry date in your passport. If you renewed your passport early, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. This could affect the requirement for your passport to be less than 10 years old.
Non British Passport holders should consult the host country’s embassy for applicable passport and visa entry requirements.
A large buffet breakfast and five dinners are included in the price of the holiday. Breakfasts will be taken in the hotel and dinners will be taken in local restaurants. We don’t include lunches in the price of the holiday – normally these can be taken as a picnic or in a pleasant café.
Footwear
Comfortable, broken in, walking boots or shoes with a good sole are recommended for this holiday. Walking shoes or other comfortable footwear will be suitable for sightseeing days.
General Kit List
We recommend you bring the following items with you:
Swimming in France
Please note that in French public swimming pools men are not permitted to wear baggy swimming shorts but must have ‘Speedo’ style trunks or tight fitting longer shorts. Men with incorrect swim wear will not be allowed into the pool.
Water To Go
An alternative to bottled water from single-use sealed water bottles is filtered water from a refillable bottle containing its own water filter such as a Water-to-go bottle available from www.watertogo.eu. Just fill up from any water source and save the environment from disposable plastic bottles.
We have negotiated an exclusive 15% discount with our partners Water-to-Go for you as a thank you for helping the environment. Please go to their website at www.watertogo.eu and enter the code RWH17 when ordering. In addition, Water-to-Go will match the discount with a donation to our charity, Heart & Sole, which will allow us to continue to make a difference in the countries you visit on our holidays.
Travel Document Checklist
To ensure your holiday gets off to a good start, please make sure that you bring the following documents and information with you:
Electricity in France
Electricity is supplied at 220 Volts. If you wish to use electrical equipment you will need a European two pin adaptor with round pins. More information can be found at https://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/
Ideal Maps & Guidebooks
Recommended maps of the area, and one which covers all of our walks are
The Rough Guide to France has several pages on the Annecy area and lots of other in-depth information about the country.
The Annecy Tourist Office’s website is www.lac-annecy.com with information on all sorts of things in Annecy itself and helpful information on the area.
The Map Shop
If you cannot find the maps or books locally we recommend:
The Map Shop
5 High Street
Upton upon Severn, Worcs
WR8 0HJ
England
Tel: 01684 593 146
Website: www.themapshop.co.uk
E-mail: [email protected]
If you key many of the local places mentioned in this holiday fact sheet into YouTube, you will find a vast array of spectacular footage of the area.
Country Health
No compulsory immunisations are required for visits to France.
You should be up to date with the usual immunisations recommended in the UK.
You may wish to consider immunisations against Tetanus and Tick-borne Encephalitis
Further Health Advice
For further advice please visit:
You might wish to take a small bottle of antibacterial hand gel with you for times when you're unable to wash your hands.
Travel Insurance
It is a condition of booking with Adagio that you have adequate valid travel insurance. It is your responsibility to arrange appropriate travel insurance and ensure you have read and understood the full terms and conditions of your travel insurance policy to ensure that you are covered for all activities you intend to undertake whilst on the trip, including all optional activities.
Your travel insurance policy must fully cover you for medical expenses and emergency repatriation. Please ensure your policy covers the entire duration of your holiday. If you are walking at altitude please ensure that there is no upper altitude limit which may limit or exclude cover for your trip. Medical and repatriation insurance cover are not mandatory for UK residents who are travelling on trips within the United Kingdom.
Whoever you insure with, please ensure that you take full details, and ideally the policy itself, with you on holiday and provide our tour leader with your insurer's name, the policy number and emergency assistance contact numbers.
Please note that it is very difficult to obtain travel insurance once your holiday arrangements have started.
Looking for travel insurance cover?
If you have not already arranged cover, please visit SunWorld who offer travel insurance.
SunWorld policies include cover for COVID-19, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
EHIC Cards
Please take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with you; it will help you in the event of you needing medical assistance during your holiday. Please note that the EHIC has an expiry date, so please check that your card is valid for the duration of your holiday. Please note however the EHIC should not be considered a substitute for medical or travel insurance.
For more information please visit ehic.org.uk.
Height
It is important to ensure while purchasing insurance that you are insured for guided walking upto 2000m.
Responsible Travel
We're committed to operating responsible tours in all our destinations as best we can. Our holidays are designed for you to discover the essence of the country you are visiting. Travelling in small groups not only gives you an up close and personal experience of your destination, but minimises your impact on the immediate environment. We feel that the most important starting point to protect the environment is to be out in it. For more details visit our website.
Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust
Unlike many tour operators we have our own trust through which RWH Travel Ltd’s (inc Adagio) profits are channelled back into a variety of outdoor, walking-related or environmental conservation projects in the UK. The focus of the Trust’s financial support is Britain’s leading walking charity, The Ramblers, and their role in promoting the benefits and importance of walking to the British public.
In addition the Trust welcomes applications for small grants from local organisations in the UK who need support for walking-orientated activities. This includes the establishment of footpaths and bridleways, funding for rebuilding bridges and renovating huts, as well as bursary funding for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for children who could not otherwise afford to do it. Please visit the ‘About Us’ section of our website and click on the Charitable Trust link for more details.
Heart and Sole
We appreciate that we are in a fortunate position to be able to use our profits to help make a difference to people's lives. Heart & Sole is a venture managed by our office staff, whose aim is to reach the heart of the communities in the countries we visit. Through Heart & Sole, we hope to make more of a long term, direct impact to these communities, particularly in less developed countries where even a small amount goes a long way.
Reviews
Useful Information
Capital
Currency
Language
Time Difference
Flight duration
Visas and Passports
January
Avg. Rain: 65mm
February
Avg. Rain: 56mm
March
Avg. Rain: 55mm
April
Avg. Rain: 59mm
May
Avg. Rain: 66mm
June
Avg. Rain: 58mm
July
Avg. Rain: 51mm
August
Avg. Rain: 56mm
September
Avg. Rain: 66mm
October
Avg. Rain: 79mm
November
Avg. Rain: 76mm
December
Avg. Rain: 74mm
View Dates & Book
Can't find what you're looking for?
Call for help or regional flights on 01707 817311