Explore our Annecy Pop Up Rereat!

Annecy Weekender

27th June - 1st July 2024

Annecy is an alpine town in south-eastern France, where Lake Annecy feeds into the Thieu River. It’s known for its Vieille Ville (old town), with cobbled streets, winding canals and pastel-coloured houses. Overlooking the city, the medieval Château d’Annecy, once home to the Counts of Geneva, contains a museum with regional artefacts such as Alpine furniture and religious art, plus a natural history exhibit.

Annecy is very close to the border with Switzerland and Italy, Annecy is one of the most beautiful cities in France and is often described as the Venice of the Alps. The hotel is located on the outskirts of Annecy a perfect location to take on some of the epic 'big ticket' climbs often featured in the Tour de France.

Example routes

Welcome Ride

Distance 45km

Elevation gained 250m

Todays welcome ride is all about getting comfortable on the bike. The route is a very gently loop taking in part of the lake before taking a left up to Col de Bluffy a very gentle climb up past a beautiful chateau before dropping back down to the lake and back to the hotel. After the ride any changes to the bike set up can be made so you are ready to ride the following day.

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Col De La Forclaz

Distance 88km

Elevation gained 1550m

A lovely route as we pick up the cycle path and head south along the lake side taking in the stunning views of the lake and warm the legs up before we take a left and start a the climb up to Col de la Forclaz. A wonderful climb of 13km reaching a height of 1525m in height which offers some spectacular views of the lake. It has featured in the Tour de France 7 times (last time was 2016) and also it has appeared on the Giro de Italia. It’s a must to tick off. After a sweeping descent we take in an additional 32km look ticking of the lovely Col du Marais a very gentle climb but simple beautiful climb through the valley after descending back to Thones we pick up the old rails way line now a dedicated bike route and head back in to Annecy.

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Col De La Croix Fry

Distance 75km

Elevation gained 1462m

We start the day rolling south along the lake for a short while before turning left to enjoy some quiet rolling roads through the beautiful rural countryside before heading north to Col de la Crois Fry another climb featured on the Tour De France and takes in some breath taking views up to an elevation of !433m. Once the climb is done we descend through some sweeping alpine roads and villages before heading back to Annecy

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Semnoz

Distance 60km/75km

Elevation gained 1450m

The mighty Semnoz is a must do climb on the doorstep of Annecy and is the highest climb in the area. We have 2 options to climb Semnoz, the classic way up 17km with an average gradient of 7% or the more civilized way up from the East taking in the Col de Leschaux, whilst this is a longer climb the gradients are much less and more accessible for all abilities. Once we summit the climb we cruise down through some fabulous traditional villages and countryside on smooth meandering roads before picking up the Annecy cycle path back to the hotel to relax.

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Col Des Glieres

Distance 83 km

Elevation gained 1858m

A super ride heading northeast from Annecy into the rolling countryside where we head out to a beautiful climb steeped in history. The summit of the Col des Glieres was the drop zone for allied forces supporting the Marquis resistance fighters who held of the German advances during WW2. The ride is beautiful and the climb of 14km (average 5.5% gradient) is rewarded with a fabulous café stop at the top before we descend clockwise through some wonderfully quite alpine villages back to Annecy.

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Col De la Colombiere

Distance 86 km

Elevation gained 1714m

This is an absolute must do ride with the iconic climb of the day Col de la Colombiere which has featured over 20 times on the tour de France and is quite frankly a beautiful alpine climb of 12km averaging 6%. We approach from the south and after we stop at the top for a much-needed lunch we descend back the same way before heading back largely all down hill back to Annecy. A perfect way to end the week with this iconic climb.

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