Prepare to be amazed on some fascinating visits to incredible places hidden in the heart of the Annecy Mountains.
© David Machet /
© Festival des cabanes You’ll appreciate the free Annecy Paysages trail, an unguided tour through the city of Annecy. From 2nd July to 25th September, vegetal and plastic exhibits are displayed at various iconic sites, inviting walkers to reflect on the balance to be struck between urban and natural settings. From the banks of Lake Annecy to the city centre, 16 new pieces bring a new lease of life to past creations on a highly original open-air art tour. In total, some forty installations offer a new angle on the city’s natural landscapes and heritage features, to be explored on foot or by bike. Don’t forget to download the Annecy Paysages app for an enhanced tour that includes 4 artworks to admire in augmented reality!
© Festival des cabanes 
© Festival des cabanes For the 7th Festival des Cabanes, 14 cabins selected by a professional panel are installed across the 7 towns and villages of the Sources du Lac d’Annecy region, by the architects themselves or by a constantly increasing number of local volunteers. Each cabin makes a poetic link between nature and culture, encouraging mindfulness about our relationship to nature and how we can coexist with it, and offering a chosen viewpoint on our surroundings. During your walks, find your inner child again as you discover these 14 magical sites!
In the heart of Le Grand-Bornand you’ll find La Source, a new venue for family togetherness that offers an amusing way to learn all about mountain culture. In the authentic setting of a genuine farm, La Source features, across 3 levels, various workshops and rooms for educational activities, exhibition rooms, auditoriums and a sheepfold. Not forgetting the garden which invites you to visit at will and enjoy the mountain-themed play areas with cooperative games. Amusing challenges for a great way to learn, all in a decor of timber logs, wooden milk churns, old coffee grinders and antique skis, some of which have been put to new uses! This amusing place to learn will delight adults and children alike!
In La Clusaz, Gisèle welcomes you to the Hameau des Alpes where you’ll find some fabulous local heritage such as a communal oven, two granaries, a sawmill and a traditional dwelling that reveals all you’ve ever wanted to know about reblochon cheese and skiing! A fun interactive tour on the reblochon theme takes the form of a treasure hunt, while another reveals the skiing history of La Clusaz as you explore the slopes with the help of the ski lifts! There’s also an outdoor information trail for walkers who are keen to learn more. Alternatively you can join Gisèle, every Thursday in the summer season, for a guided tour of La Clusaz village.
Located in Thônes and built around a 19th-century hydraulic sawmill, the Wood and Forest Ecomuseum unveils the secrets of ancient and current trades relating to wood. It also covers the more general issues of sustainable development in the context of wood and the forest. You’ll be able to join a nature workshop or an introduction to carpentry or participate in organised activities to learn about the forest or the sawyer trade. A number of amusing and often unusual ways to discover both our natural surroundings and our cultural environment!
