Annecy: A Town for All Seasons

Note: when this story was written the city of Annecy was a candidate for the 2018 Winter Olympics; it lost to Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Saturday afternoon in Annecy. Joggers crisscross the Jardins de l’Europe park. Cyclists pedal around sections of the huge Annecy lake. A few brave souls kayak across the glassy surface while a swimmer perfects his butterfly stroke. Nothing unusual for an active mountain city, except that the mercury has hit 28° F and ankle-deep snow carpets the ground. The occasional cross-country skier even manages to glide across le paquier, a sprawling pasture along the lake.

The capital of France’s Haute Savoie department cultivates contrasts. Severe mountains jut up from the banks of lakeside tranquility. Rib-sticking fondue flirts with delicate freshwater fish like char and féra on the menus of local restaurants. While only some 50,000 inhabitants call Annecy home, the small city has Olympic-sized ambitions—it’s a candidate to host the 2018 winter games.

And why not? After all, neighboring Chamonix, one of the planned sites included in the 2018 bid, gave birth to modern winter tourism. At the end of the 19th century, Dr. Michel Payot introduced the local population to skis—there was no better way, the doctor discovered, to make the rounds to patients isolated in the farthest corners of the Mont Blanc massif. In 1908, the first Mont Blanc tramway opened the snowfields to a wider public, followed by the ancestor of today’s Aiguille du Midi cable car in 1923. The International Olympic Committee probably had no difficulty in choosing Chamonix to host the first winter Olympics in 1924.

Nearly a century later, maybe it is time for the winter games to come home to the Savoy Alps. The wink at history reinforces Annecy’s claim to the Games. “We can’t forget that the first winter Olympics took place in Chamonix, and we want to reconnect with that,” says Jean-Luc Rigaut, the enthusiastic mayor of Annecy. “The first ski resorts were born with the Olympics, and today we’re aiming for a 21st-century renaissance.”

This means that Annecy looks back to its sporty history, but also forward to the future of winter pastimes. “We want to give a sense of sharing to our project. We can inhabit the Alps differently and reinvent the mountain for the 21st century,” notes Rigaut. “That’s the question of tomorrow—how to share the mountain rather than just use the mountain.”

The opportunity to host the 2018 winter Olympics would indeed offer the city an ideal chance to fuel its commitment to the environment. Projects for more ecological housing, advanced public transportation, and the development of eco-tourism would very probably all get a jump-start from the Winter Games.

Flowering canals

But if the future has a rosy glow, the past and present make Annecy a pretty irresistible prospect right now. In the medieval cluster of the old city, the Palais de l’Ile cuts through the Thiou River like the bow of a ship. The stone palace was built on an island in the river in 1325; through the course of its long history it has been prison, mint, princely residence, wedding gift, courthouse and insane asylum. Today it houses the city’s history museum and the Urban Interpretation Center. Crossing the Perrière bridge—the one just in front of the old palace’s prow—can demand a lot of pausing and ducking. Everyone who visits Annecy wants a souvenir shot in front of les vieilles prisons as the monument is locally known.

The mostly pedestrian streets of the medieval town snake around the Palais de l’Ile, threaded by branches of the Thiou and the Vassé canal. Like a grande dame in her richest garb, the older parts of the city hide their age well, all the while offering the flower-decked charms of another time. Sardinian hues—lavender, sea foam and sunflower—color the walls of the oldest buildings, a reminder of the days when the dukes of Savoy also ruled Sardinia, while at street level thick archways, reminiscent of those along the streets of Turin, protect passersby from drizzle and snow. The brilliant colors pop against the often dreary winter sky and again the contrasts of Annecy work their magic.

The rue Sainte Claire, the main street of the old town, is known for its lively market on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings. The hôtel particulier at no. 18 was once the episcopal residence of the 17th-century bishop François de Sales, a pivotal figure in the Counter-Reformation and one of Annecy’s most illustrious citizens. Another, for a time, was writer and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who met his romantic fate in the person of Madame de Warens here in 1728.

The Vassé canal, flowing under the tiny, prettily named Pont des Amours, leads from the lake toward one of the city’s most startling contrasts—the Bonlieu cultural center. Standing on the foundations of a 17th-century convent that became military barracks during the French Revolution, the building was redesigned in the late 1970s and early 1980s by architect Maurice Novarina. His talents prevented the reinforced-concrete building from becoming an eyesore over the years—with its Roman-forum layout and molded cement details, Bonlieu looks rather young for its age.

Aquamarine jewel

The Bauges and the Aravis mountains encircle the city like a natural fortress guarding its glistening treasure, the aquamarine Lac d’Annecy. The craggy ridges accentuate the crystalline waters of the nearly 7,000-acre lake. While no Olympians would compete on the lake in 2018, the jewel of nature crowns a site that is a natural fit for such an event.

On board L’Allobroge, a small cruise boat, there’s a change of perspective in more ways than one. As the boat pulls away from the quay, the city starts to take on a different shape. The slender steeple of the Visitation church points skyward from the hill called the Crêt du Maure, the Moor’s Crest. Viewed from the water, the 12th-century château imposes its geometric stature on the town at its feet. From within the tight alleyways of the old town, you can barely see the brick mammoth; from the lake, it stands out like the seat of ducal power it once was. (A visit to the château, now a museum, is also a must; its 15th-century Tour Perrière offers a splendid view in the opposite direction.)

On L’Allobroge, the subject of Annecy’s candidature comes up in a conversation with the boat’s captain. “I don’t know if the Games will be a good investment,” he says. “It’s going to cost millions of euros to organize.” After a moment, though, he concedes, “If they want to take the opportunity to have the greenest games possible and offset their carbon, in that case, I’m for it.” It’s easy to understand why environmental concerns can make the captain change his mind. Annecy prides itself on having the purest lake in Europe. The city even pumps its water from the lake, which is so clear you can see the bottom in all except the deepest parts. For surrounding ski stations, global warming threatens to increase the need for artificial snow. With a handful of winter resorts just 20 minutes from city, an abundance of snow is crucial, and not just for an Olympic bid. The environment inspires a certain way of life, where outdoor activities are as natural as breathing the fresh mountain air.

“It’s time to push for change, which is risky, but we accept the challenge,” says Mayor Rigaut. “With games that are ecological, on a human scale, and for the people, we can play differently, in keeping with the times.” A bit like this modern mayor, who cycles away through the snow on a Saturday afternoon in Annecy.

 

 

Jean-Luc Rigaut, mayor of Annecy and co-chairman of the Annecy 2018 committee speaks about the city’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics:

Why is this project so important to you?

I believe in this project because it brings together the people’s energy and will. Hosting a project on an international scale gives a certain visibility to our city and the surrounding territory. Plus, I strongly believe in the athletic values that the Olympic Games embody.

Why is Annecy a good choice to host the 2018 winter Olympics?

Annecy has had an athletic policy for a long time. The idea to host the Games didn’t just pop into our heads. We already host big events like the International Animation Festival, which puts us in a position to organize projects on an international scale. We want to offer our dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit to the games, in a place that is filled with history and heritage, with Annecy and its lake, Chamonix and Mont Blanc. It’s all the best of the Alps—you don’t get any more postcard-perfect than this.

How is the project going to change the city?

I hope this project doesn’t profoundly change the city. The Olympic Games will, however, boost many projects. Beyond the two weeks of events, the games will let us develop infrastructures that the city lacks today, like advanced rail systems. The city’s soul won’t change, but the games will add momentum to several projects and push us to reflect more seriously on modern concerns—artificial snow, more facilities for the handicapped, car-less transportation.

What legacy would the games leave?

Everyone immediately wonders what will be left over, but the Olympic Games will actually concentrate the means to build what the city needs. It’s a different way of viewing the organization of this project. We take the approach that “we’ll build something the city needs which will also be used for the Games”. The Olympic village would provide 150 ecological apartments, for example, because Annecy needs to build more housing. We also promised that our carbon footprint would be beneficial. Hopefully, this will make people rethink the way they “consume” winter sports. The Olympics will give them ways to do this, like the proposed Games Train between Annecy and Chamonix. If it works, there’s no reason installations won’t continue once the Games are over.

Originally published in the January 2011 issue of France Today