Five-star hotels in Annecy: the Annecy-le-Vieux hillside

Annecy-le-Vieux, part of Annecy since 2017

On 1 January 2017 Annecy-le-Vieux merged with Annecy, Cran-Gevrier, Meythet, Pringy and Seynod to form the commune nouvelle of Annecy, and it now has the status of a commune déléguée. The enlarged town had 132,117 inhabitants in 2023, making it the largest town in Haute-Savoie as well as its prefecture. Addresses in the former commune still carry the 74940 postcode.

Annecy-le-Vieux covers 17.02 km² on the north-eastern shore of the lake. Its territory runs from the waterfront at Albigny up the slopes of Mont Veyrier, which rises to 1,291 m, and its northern boundary follows the valley of the Fier. The old village centre keeps its church and Romanesque bell tower.

One piece of industrial history stands out. The Paccard bell foundry moved here from Quintal between 1854 and 1857 and stayed until 1989, when it left for Sévrier. In 1891 it cast La Savoyarde, an 18,835 kg bell that hangs in the campanile of the Sacré-Cœur basilica in Paris.

Luxury hotels in Annecy: choosing a district

Travellers looking at luxury hotels in Annecy are really choosing between three settings. The old town puts canals, arcaded streets and the market on the doorstep, much of it within a pedestrian zone. The lakefront between the Pâquier and Albigny puts the water and the promenade first. The hills of Annecy-le-Vieux trade a short drive or a longer walk for quiet and views across the lake to the mountains.

There is a fourth option outside the town: the villages of the eastern shore. Our page on Menthon-Saint-Bernard, about 10 km south, covers a lakeside stay with its own beach, below a medieval château.

As of September 2026, Le Clos des Sens is the only hotel registered under Annecy-le-Vieux with a five-star classification in the Atout France register. Its draw is its restaurant and its view rather than proximity to the old town.

The old town and its canals

Annecy's old town straddles the Thiou, which at 3.5 km is one of the shortest rivers in France and the natural outflow of the lake. Since the Middle Ages its steady flow has driven mill wheels and hammers, and canals branch off it through the old quarter; boats lie moored along the Vassé canal, which opens onto the lake. The combination of water and mountains earned Annecy the nickname Venice of the Alps.

The arcaded Rue Sainte-Claire runs through the old town; its gate, the Porte Sainte-Claire, once faced towards Chambéry. Above the rooftops stands the Château d'Annecy, once the home of the Counts of Geneva and later of the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours. Its Queen's Tower, the oldest part, dates from the 13th century, and the castle now houses the Castle-Museum and the Regional Observatory of the Alpine Lakes.

The town's history runs back to the Roman settlement of Boutae. Annecy passed from Savoy to France under the Treaty of Turin in 1860 and became the capital of the new department of Haute-Savoie.

The Palais de l'Isle

The Palais de l'Isle sits on a natural rock island in the Thiou, and the tourist office describes it as moored like a stone boat in the river. It began in the 12th century as a modest fortified house and residence of the lord of Annecy. It served as a prison from 1325, housed a mint from 1355 and was known by the late 16th century as the Palais de Justice de l'Isle; prisoners were held there until 1864, and again during the Second World War.

The building was listed as a historic monument on 16 February 1900 and restored between 1983 and 1985. Today it is the town's Centre for the Interpretation of Architecture and Heritage, with exhibitions on the architecture of the Annecy area and guided and self-guided visits. It stands at 3 Passage de l'Île, in the pedestrian zone, and the tourist office calls it the most photographed monument of Lake Annecy.

From the Pâquier to the Albigny beach

Where the old town meets the lake, the Pâquier spreads out as a 7-hectare public lawn along the water, which the tourist office compares to Central Park. The Pont des Amours, an iron footbridge of 1907 over the Vassé canal, links it to the Jardins de l'Europe, an English-style park with century-old trees.

From the Pâquier the shore runs north-east into Annecy-le-Vieux. The Albigny beach, on the Avenue du Petit Port, is a large grass beach bordered with flowers, free to use, with showers, toilets, nearby restaurants and a rowing club next door. Lifeguards are on duty from the start of the summer school holidays until 31 August, and floating wheelchairs are provided free for people with reduced mobility. The lakeside cycle path passes close by.

The bay of Albigny is also where the Fête du Lac fireworks are staged each August.

Le Clos des Sens

Le Clos des Sens stands at 13 Rue Jean Mermoz, perched on the hill of Annecy-le-Vieux. It is a member of Relais & Châteaux and its 11 rooms, the same number the Atout France register records, were classified five stars on 12 February 2025. The house describes its rooms as charming, family or discreet, with exposed beams, a great deal of wood and earthy tones from brick to stone grey; in winter the house lights its fireplaces.

The terrace, shaded by century-old chestnut trees, looks over the surrounding hills to the mountains and the lake. The restaurant, La Table, describes its cooking as an ode to the fish of Alpine lakes and a celebration of the plant world, with meat serving only as a condiment for a vegetable or a fish. Produce comes partly from the house's own garden, cultivated in permaculture by the gardener Lionel Perron, with aromatic herbs and plants for pollinators. Breakfast is presented as the first meal of that same cuisine.

With 11 rooms and a restaurant at its centre, the house is closer in spirit to a gastronomic inn than to a resort hotel. It sits on the hill rather than on the shore, so the lake is the view rather than the place to swim.

Getting to Annecy

Annecy is served by direct TGV services from Paris and by regional trains to Lyon, Valence, Grenoble, Chambéry and Chamonix. The nearest large international airport is Geneva. Le Clos des Sens is on the hill, so plan on a taxi or car from the station. Distances below are those given by the Lake Annecy tourist office.

Beyond the town

Annecy is also a practical base for the lakes and mountains around it. The eastern shore road leads past Veyrier-du-Lac to Menthon-Saint-Bernard and its château. Inland, the road towards Thônes climbs to the Aravis and the village resort of La Clusaz, about 32 km away. The A41 south reaches the spa town of Aix-les-Bains and the Lac du Bourget, covered on our Grésy-sur-Aix page. For other five-star hotels in Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Isère, see the French Alps selection, and our guide to choosing a five-star hotel for a city break explains how to pick an area from your own plans.