By train to the Alps – cycling around Lake Annecy and the best food market in France

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on October 24th 2025.

Another train journey! A longer one this time, just over 3 hours to Annecy, one of the most attractive towns in the Alps with it’s cobbled streets and picturesque bridges over the canals, all set against the backdrop of the clear turquoise waters of Lake Annecy and surrounded by mountains.

It was the thought of cycling around the lake that drew us here, together with weekly food markets, reputed to be amongst the best in France. We had booked a one-room apartment for 2 nights and had decided to hire decent bikes rather than bring our tiny folding bikes with us.

Bike hire is big business in Annecy. The company we used had 700 rental bikes available from three shops around the lake and they were not the only ones to offer this service.It was their name that made them stand out from the crowd  – ‘Roule ma poule’, which literally, and confusingly, translates as ‘roll my chicken ‘. I asked the young man who gave us our bikes what it really meant and he agonised for a few moments to find a way to explain it. Some things just don’t translate but it implies a sense of excitement for a journey, a sort of ‘yay, let’s go!!’

And so that is exactly what we did. In summer the charm of this lovely cycle route would have been hard to find as you jostled along the trail with hundreds of other cyclists, but on a brooding, mysterious autumn morning in the shoulder season we had it almost to ourselves and it was just wonderful.

Early afternoon the sun came out and everything changed. Dark waters turned a startling turquoise and, as the clouds lifted, magnificent mountain peaks were outlined against a soft blue sky.

After a very happy morning cycling we handed our bikes back and set off on foot to explore the old town. It’s a place of archways and alleyways, of old wooden doors with stories to tell and cobbles worn smooth by generations of human feet; a place to wander slowly, admiring the pastel-painted buildings and impressive churches. You could walk here every day and still find something new. Tourists were definitely about but there was space for all of us, apart from on some of the prettier bridges where the selfie-hunting visitor was intent on ticking off yet another social media box.

Whenever I visit this type of town, a major tourist destination, I am always struck by the sheer number of restaurants. The evenings had turned chilly and customers had chosen indoor seating, leaving the pavement tables and terraces empty, but in summer these streets would have been full of people dining out. Sometimes, I think I can sum up the human race in two short phrases – we eat and we take selfies.

And lastly to the Friday market, which takes over the old town and certainly lives up to it’s reputation. The French have a great passion for food and it fills me with a sense of wellbeing and connection to walk round a thriving, bustling market listening to the stallholders greeting their customers by name or, as a visitor, chatting to them about where they get their produce from and seeing the enthusiasm in their faces as they press a free sample upon you. In the heart of the market is where you find the heart of the country, still beating strong.

All too soon it was time to leave.  I shan’t forget this visit to Annecy. It’s one of those special places that linger in the memory.

See you again next week.

MJ