Annecy · 5 min read
A two-night spa weekend around Lake Annecy
Where to stay on the eastern shore, when the outdoor pools are actually warm, and how to structure two nights so you leave rested.
Two nights is the most common spa booking in the Alps and the easiest one to get wrong. Arrive late Friday, leave mid-Sunday, and you have roughly thirty usable hours. Around Annecy, the way to spend them well is to stay on the eastern shore and refuse to move much.
Stay east, not in town
Veyrier, Menthon and Talloires face west across the water, which means afternoon light on the terraces and sunsets from the pool. The old town is charming and busy; it is a better lunch than a base. The exception is winter, when a walkable hotel in Annecy makes more sense than a dark lakeside road.
Structure the thirty hours
Book the treatment for Saturday late afternoon, not Saturday morning. Mornings are for the water, which is empty before nine; afternoons are for being worked on; evenings are for the sauna once the day guests have gone. Sunday morning is the best swim of the weekend, so check out late if you can.
Where we would book this weekend:
The outdoor pool sits three metres from the water — the clearest expression of what a lakeside spa should be.
The most beautiful setting on the lake, and a spa quiet enough that the setting is what you notice.
Forest bathing done properly: an outdoor sauna in the trees and a cold tub fed by a mountain stream.
Ready to choose a stay?
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