Annecy's two main attractions are the old town along the canals and the lake itself. The old town can be done in a slow afternoon — start at the château on its rock, drop down through the cobbled streets to the Palais de l'Île on its midstream island, and out along the lakefront promenade. The lake is a whole holiday: swimming, cycling, sailing, paragliding from the slopes above, day trips to the lakeside villages.
Beyond the headline sights are a clutch of churches, a couple of small museums, several markets, and the cluster of nearby mountain peaks that make this one of the best summer-and-winter towns in the French Alps.