Take advantage of the autumn half-term holiday and Halloween for an alternative exploration of the Annecy Mountains.
© Ville Annecy /
© Francoise Cavazzana
See you after dusk for an alternative tour of the old town of Annecy. You’ll wander through the dark cobblestone streets in the company of Whitney Hahn or Aude Thierrin, both guides accredited by the French Ministry of Cultural Affairs. They’ll tell you the macabre stories and crimes of passion that have haunted these alleyways. Are you ready to follow them through secret passageways and tremble with fear at the sight of the skeletons you’ll meet along the way? For obvious reasons, these walkabouts are not recommended for children under the age of 12 years!
© Gilles Piel
© Freepick
On Tuesday 31 October, follow the Asters guides deep into the Marais de l’Enfer, in Saint-Jorioz. Come and join this nature walk wearing the scariest fancy-dress outfit you can find. A chance for the whole family to learn more about eerie creatures like wild boar, bats and owls. The dramatised workshops will teach you more about the ecosystems around us. Remember to sign up in advance. Walkabouts start between 3pm and 5pm or, if you’d like an even more terrifying after-dark experience, between 5.40pm and 8pm!
The adventure trails are still open, for both adults and children. Make the most of them before winter comes! In Thônes, the Aravis Adventure Park has high-ropes trails suitable for the whole family. Even children under 90 cm tall can have fun. In Talloires, at Acro’Aventures, you an enjoy a wide range of activities, from high-ropes trails and commando nets to orienteering and the forest sensory trail. A chance to escape amid exceptional natural surroundings. And until 5 November, children aged 3 to 13 can go on a special Halloween treasure hunt. So save the date!
For those who fancy taking to the heights, enquire at the Aravis mountain guides bureau about via ferrata trails and the cliffs of La Clusaz, as well as various other spots in the Annecy Mountains. There’s nothing quite like the autumn sunshine that accompanies your climb up the rock face!
For fans of hands-on activities, why not sign up for a creative workshop? Carpentry and leatherwork activities are available for children and adults who enjoy ‘using their hands’, at the wood and forestry ecomuseum and the Bourrelière workshops in Thônes.
Take this opportunity for an alternative tour before the site closes for winter. In an eerie decor of bats and spiderwebs, explore the cave and its underground network of tunnels and narrow passageways. Wear face paint and your scariest fancy-dress costume and prepare for shivers down the spine! Come along on 1 November for a ‘fancy-dress day’ and join a face-painting workshop to transform your loveliest smile into a terrifying scowl!
