Lake Annecy beaches: which one, and what it costs

A grassy lakeside beach with swimmers in shallow water and mountains on the far shore

In short: Annecy has two free supervised town beaches — Albigny and Marquisats — both walkable from the centre. Plage de l’Impérial became paid again in 2026 after several free years, at a modest standard entry. Beyond the town, every village around the lake has its own beach, and they are quieter, greener and mostly free.

The two free town beaches

Plage d’Albigny is the one most visitors end up at. It is free, supervised in season, has snack kiosks and free toilets, and sits about 1.5 km along the lakefront from the centre — a flat, pleasant twenty minutes on foot or five on a bike. It has grass as well as shore, which matters more than it sounds on a hot day.

Plage des Marquisats is the other free supervised option, roughly a kilometre from the Old Town in the opposite direction, on the western side. It is closer to town and correspondingly busier at the obvious hours. Both are ordinary municipal beaches rather than resorts, and both are on water that is clean enough that the town drinks it.

Plage de l’Impérial: the change nobody has updated

The Impérial is the big landscaped beach at the north-eastern end of the lakefront, next to the Impérial Palace. For several years it was free. In 2026 it went back to paid entry, and a great many pages online have not caught up.

For the 2026 season it was supervised and paid from 4 July to 31 August 2026, 10:00–19:00, at these rates:

Standard entryEUR 4

Annecy residentEUR 2.50

Resident aged 10–17EUR 2

Season pass, adultEUR 59

Season pass, aged 10–17EUR 49

Carers of disabled visitorsFree

Insider tip

Those are the 2026 season figures. The arrangement is reviewed annually — it has already flipped from paid to free and back again once — so check the town’s own page before you plan around it. What will not change is that Albigny and Marquisats are free.

Town beach or village beach?

What works

Town beaches are free (except the Impérial) and supervised in season
You can walk or cycle to them — no parking problem
Toilets, kiosks and lifeguards, which matters with small children
Ten minutes from a coffee and the Old Town

Worth knowing

Busy from late morning through August
Municipal rather than scenic — the postcard views are further south
Shade is limited and the grass fills first
The Impérial now charges in high season

The villages around the lake all have beaches of their own: Sévrier, Saint-Jorioz, Duingt, Doussard, Menthon-Saint-Bernard, Talloires and Veyrier-du-Lac. Doussard at the south end sits beside the Roselère nature reserve and is the wildest-feeling of them; Duingt sits at the narrows where the lake is at its most photogenic. All of them are reachable on the Voie Verte, which is the single best way to spend a hot day here.

The water itself

Surface temperature sits around 22 °C in high summer, which is warm enough to swim in comfortably and cold enough to be a shock if you go in fast. The lake is deep — 82 m at its deepest, 41 m on average — and it does not warm evenly. A few metres down it is cold in any month, which is worth knowing before anyone swims out.

Swimming season effectively runs from late June to early September. Before that the water is swimmable rather than pleasant. The full swimming guide covers the safety side properly, and the lake facts page has the numbers.

Walk and boat

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Frequently asked questions

Are the beaches at Lake Annecy free?

Albigny and Marquisats, the two supervised town beaches, are free. Plage de l’Impérial went back to paid entry in 2026 at EUR 4 standard. Most village beaches around the lake are free.

How much does Plage de l’Impérial cost?

For the 2026 season it was EUR 4 standard, EUR 2.50 for Annecy residents, EUR 2 for residents aged 10–17, with season passes at EUR 59 adult and EUR 49 for 10–17s. Carers of disabled visitors go free. The arrangement is reviewed each year.

Which is the best beach in Annecy?

Albigny, if you want free, supervised, and walkable from town with toilets and kiosks. If you want the scenery, take the greenway south to Duingt or Doussard instead — the lake is at its best at the narrows.

Is Lake Annecy warm enough to swim in?

In high summer the surface sits around 22 °C, which is comfortable. From late June to early September is the realistic swimming season. The lake is 82 m deep and stays cold below the surface layer in every month.

Are Annecy’s beaches supervised?

Albigny and Marquisats are supervised in season, as is the Impérial during its paid summer window. Outside those dates and away from the town beaches, you are swimming at your own risk in a deep, cold alpine lake.

Can you walk to the beach from Annecy Old Town?

Yes. Marquisats is about a kilometre away and Albigny about 1.5 km, both flat along the lakefront. Cycling is faster and avoids the summer parking entirely.