Talloires, the Lake Annecy village that won over Cézanne and Mark Twain

On the southeast shore of Lake Annecy, at 469 metres above sea level, Talloires has long drawn a quieter crowd than the town of Annecy itself. The abbey, founded in the 11th century, is its historic heart: Paul Cézanne stayed here for six weeks in the summer of 1896, painting three oils and twenty-one watercolours of the lake and surrounding countryside. In 1902, physicist Gabriel Lippmann produced his very first colour photograph here, a landmark moment in the history of photography. Writers André Theuriet and Mark Twain also spent time in Talloires, drawn by the calm of the setting.

The village, which had 1,733 residents before its 2016 merger with Montmin (now 1,903 for the combined commune), retains a neoclassical church and the abbey itself, a listed historic monument. The town hall occupies the birthplace of Claude Louis Berthollet, a chemist born here in 1748 who invented bleach. The local economy still revolves around lake tourism: three supervised beaches open in July and August, and the area is well suited to paragliding, golf, and water sports. Every January, the Glagla Race, a paddleboard competition held in freezing water, brings out the most determined competitors.

How to get there

Annecy, about 15 km away, is home to both the train station — served by direct trains from Lyon and Paris — and the small Annecy-Meythet airport, geared mainly toward light aviation. For international flights, Geneva Airport, roughly 45 km away, is the more practical option. By car, the road hugging the lake's eastern shore from Annecy offers one of the most scenic approaches to the village, with the lake in view for much of the way.