Marché d'Annecy

The markets of Annecy take over the old town on several mornings a week, filling the streets beside the Thiou canal and the arcaded lanes around the Palais de l'Isle with stalls, voices and the smell of cheese and roasted chickens. The main old town markets are held on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings, and the Sunday market is the biggest and most animated, with stalls spilling through the streets and over the little bridges. Annecy is a town where the Alps meet the lake, and the market is the best place to taste the food of the mountains and valleys that surround it.

The regional speciality is cheese, and the market is a good place to learn the range. The Haute-Savoie produces some of the best-known Alpine cheeses in France: Reblochon, a soft washed-rind cheese that is the basis of tartiflette, Abondance, Tomme de Savoie, Beaufort and the smaller goat cheeses from farms in the Bauges and the Aravis. Cheesemongers often cut samples, and they can advise on the right level of maturity. Alongside the cheeses, stalls sell air-dried mountain ham and sausages, including the local diots and the longeole, as well as honey from alpine meadows, jams, walnuts, fruit from the lakeshore orchards and bread baked in wood-fired ovens.

Savoie wines also appear at the market. White wines such as Apremont, Roussette de Savoie and the crisp Chignin, and the red Mondeuse, are produced on slopes within a short distance of the town, and growers or specialist stalls offer tastings. Others sell flowers, plants, herbs and crafts, and the Sunday market adds clothes, books and miscellaneous goods. Locals shop here for the week's supplies, so the atmosphere is practical rather than touristy, and visitors can follow the rhythm of daily life.

The setting is part of the pleasure. The stalls line streets that follow the canal, with pastel-coloured houses on either side, and the Palais de l'Isle, a former prison and law court built on an island in the river, forms a backdrop in the middle of the town. After shopping you can sit at a café terrace and watch the market, or buy picnic supplies and walk down to the lake. The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre and the Château d'Annecy, which looks down over the roofs from its hill, are close by, and the Musée de l'Abbaye and the Musée Chantier add cultural interest.

A few practical tips help. Arrive early, as the best choice is available in the first hours and parking fills up quickly. Bring a bag or basket and some cash for small stalls. The market runs until about lunchtime, and stallholders begin to pack up in the early afternoon. Cheese and charcuterie keep well, and many sellers will vacuum-pack purchases for travel. The market suits food lovers, families and anyone who wants to see the old town at its liveliest, and it combines well with a boat trip on Lac d'Annecy or a walk along the lakeside promenade.