Annecy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

In the summer of 2023, we stayed a week in Annecy in the French Alps. Our daughter Ava had honed in on it as her idea of paradise is a snowy vista with mountains and lakes. We booked well ahead and believe we found the best Airbnb in Annecy for our core criteria. We wanted 2 bedrooms in the old town, ideally with views.

Here’s the property:

Annecy

Would we stay at this Airbnb again?

Unikely. The location is spot on. It’s in the old town, close to the lake and close enough to the train station. The buliding is elegant and as you can see the views are phenomenal.

As you can also see the decor is dated. There’s also no air conditioning. With climate change and European heat waves, it can be scary to book an Airbnb without AC. Moreover, the owners outsourced the management to an agency who were rude and the cleaning was sub-par.

Here is Airbnb’s Annecy landing page for other listings.

Would we invest in a property in Annecy?

Yes, but I have been looking for many months and haven’t found a compelling property on the market in our profile. There are some exciting properties that are available above 1 million Euros. These are out of the town in the villages along the lake, and we prefer in-town locations. In the town-center 1 bedroom, 1 bath properties can sell for 450,000 Euros. This seems very steep.
To see properties for your self, the realtor Stone and Wood has a local focus.
Having spent time in Lake Tahoe, Whistler, Park City and other American alpine destinations, Annecy, to me is a step up as it has all the natural scenery but it throws in a dramatic old town and it’s easier to access.
Regulations for Airbnbs seem welcoming. There are some hotels but it’s not a hotel village so Airbnb seems to have leverage.
Additonally, it’s a fairly all season market. Annecy is close to ski resorts so sees winter tourists and the beautiful lake and old town brings in visitors in other seasons.
As heat waves strike the Mediterranean in the summertime, I believe more vacationers will seek out the alpine lakes for their summer holidays.
Most of the properties are out-sourced to agencies who don’t seem to do a great job, so competition levels are enticing.

Here are the estimated Airbnb earings for the apartment we rented:

And here is aggregate data on Annecy.

What’s To Like About Annecy

Annecy has long been famous as a tourist draw. Its a favorite of the French but is also well known with international travellers.
It’s over the border from Switzerland but is less expensive.
The old town is a big draw as there are many restaurants and it has an amazing farmer’s market. The restaurants skew towards heavy alps food with loads of cheese but there’s also an international blend of cuisine.
With the amazing high speed trains, one can travel from Paris to Annecy in just four hours. There is no Annecy airport but the Geneva airport is just a 45 minute drive away.