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Annecy
40.5 km
Thursday 23 July
In this gorgeous setting, the Tour’s last time-trial often marks the end of the struggle. But the 2009 Tour is not over yet because the loop around Lake Annecy is approximately just 40 km long, and above all because the final battle is still to come.
Le palais de l’île© City hall of Annecy
• 2-time stage-town
• Population 52,000
• Prefecture of the Haute-Savoie (74)
A town of Art and History, Annecy is acclaimed for its beauty, its natural heritage and its quality of life.
Indeed, the capital town of the Haute-Savoie region boasts an exceptional environment: it is situated on the edge of the clearest lake in Europe and set in the foothills of the Aravis and Bauges alpine mountain ranges, not far from the Swiss and Italian borders.
This attractive location contributes to its economic vitality, today focused on cutting edge technologies, notably in the sphere of animated film. The town is also a major tourist attraction: Annecy has preserved a historic town centre, the Old Town, extremely popular with visitors, and has successfully developed a variety of outdoor leisure activities for every season.
A university town, Annecy is also renowned for its superb cultural landscape with the International Animated Film Festival in June, and the Lake Festival in August, together with the many sports events hosted in the town all year round.
• Office de Tourisme de l’Agglomération d’Annecy
• Infos et hébergements au Lac d’Annecy
The lake© City hall of Annecy
• 2-time stage-town
• Population 52,000
• Prefecture of the Haute-Savoie (74)
On the 18th of March, Annecy was selected as France’s candidate city to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Haute-Savoie is the birthplace of the Winter Olympics and the Venice of the Alps, situated at the heart of the world’s top winter sports resort. The town can certainly count on Haut-Savoyard experience and expertise in accommodating and hosting international competitions: the area already hosts 60 % of world cup skiing competitions organised in France. Annecy’s proposal has strong points in its favour: 70 % of the necessary sporting infrastructure is already in place; the Savoie region lays claim to privileged accommodation facilities, with one million beds; air, rail and road connections provide easy access to all competition sites. Annecy’s bid pledges in favour of sustainable development for future generations. In one year’s time, in July 2010, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will announce the names of the finalists and in July 2011 the name of the city that will host the 23rd Winter Olympics and the 12th Paralympics will be announced.
• Annecy 2018
