In the city of Annecy, in the capital of Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France

 "People in their natural state are basically good. But this natural innocence, however, is corrupted by the evils of society."

-- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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(in the capital of Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France) The city of Annecy, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, lies along the northwestern shore of Lake Annecy at the entrance to one of the transverse gorges of the Savoy Pre-Alps, south of Geneva. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom of Savoy from 1401 and became important during the Reformation when the bishop’s seat was transferred here from Geneva in 1535, along with monastic institutions expelled from Geneva during the Reformation. St. Francis de Sales was bishop (from 1602–22) and, with St. Jane Frances Chantal, founded the first Convent of the Visitation of the Virgin in Annecy. (In 1728 the 16-year-old Jean-Jacques Rousseau took refuge in the city.) Along with the rest of Savoy, Annecy became part of France in 1860.

+Romance is the lifeblood of Annecy, a town in the Rhone-Alpes region that is replete with castles and cathedrals and softly curving architecture. Stroll across Pont des Amours (the lover’s bridge) before taking in the Imperial Palace and the baroque Cathedral of Saint-Pierre.

+ Traces of the Gallo-Roman Boutae have been found nearby. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom of Savoy from 1401 and became important during the Reformation when the bishop’s seat was transferred here from Geneva in 1535 along with monastic institutions expelled from Geneva during the Reformation. St. Francis de Sales was bishop (1602–22) and, with St. Jane Frances Chantal, founded the first Convent of the Visitation of the Virgin in Annecy. In 1728 the 16-year-old Jean-Jacques Rousseau took refuge in the city. (Annecy, along with the rest of Savoy, became part of France in 1860.)

+ Traces of the Gallo-Roman Boutae have been found nearby. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom of Savoy from 1401 and became important during the Reformation when the bishop’s seat was transferred here from Geneva in 1535 along with monastic institutions expelled from Geneva during the Reformation. St. Francis de Sales was bishop (1602–22) and, with St. Jane Frances Chantal, founded the first Convent of the Visitation of the Virgin in Annecy. In 1728 the 16-year-old Jean-Jacques Rousseau took refuge in the city. Annecy, along with the rest of Savoy, became part of France in 1860.

+ Shown here is Annecy’s Vieille Ville (Old Town), which is infused with antique charm. Made great by the medieval Counts of Geneva and augmented by the Dukes of Savoy, Annecy still has numerous 16th- and 17th-century buildings, now painted in shades of peach and rose and housing restaurants, bakeries and boutiques. Canals trickle through town, earning Annecy its reputation as an 'Alpine Venice.'