Gorgeous Annecy, The Venice Of The Alps Editorial Image

Sometimes called `Venice of the Alps`, this idyllic and touristic representation comes from the three canals and the Thiou river, which passes through the old city. Annecy is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, 35 kilometres 22 mi south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed the `Pearl of French Alps` in Raoul Blanchard`s monograph describing its location between lake and mountains, the city controls the northern entrance to the lake gorge. Due to a lack of available building land between the lake and the protected Semnoz mountain, its population has remained stagnant, around 50,000 inhabitants, since 1950.