Novel is a neighbourhood of Annecy built during the 1960’s and 1970’s on land previously occupied by farmland. It has many of the tallest buildings in the city, some designed by architect Maurice Novarina, as well as a church, the Castle of Novel and parks.
The Promenade de Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a short and easy walk in Chambéry that follows the footsteps of Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It starts in the Old Town of Chambéry at Parc de la Calamine and goes up to Les Charmettes, a house where Rousseau lived with Madame de Warens between 1736 and 1742. It then loops back by passing through the Parc de Buisson-Rond and the Château de Boigne.
I didn’t actually walk the whole loop: It was getting late and dark so I went down to the city directly once I reached Les Charmettes.
The Université Savoie Mont Blanc is a university in the region of Savoie with a few campuses in the Chambéry and Annecy area, including one dedicated to teaching science and located at the Savoie Technolac, in Bourget-du-Lac.
Parc du Bois Vidal is a large park in Aix-les-Bains. It has multiple forest paths, lawns and a viewpoint (belvédère) with a good view on Lac du Bourget and the surrounding mountains.
A few weeks after the Circuit Central, I came back for a hike at the foot of the Semnoz. This time I went to Crêt du Maure, passing by a few viewpoints along the way, with a good view on Lake Annecy and the Bornes mountains to the east.
Starting from La Tambourne, next to the Basilique de la Visitation in Annecy, I walked the Circuit Central du Semnoz, passing by a few viewpoints (belvédère) along the way.
The Basilique de la Visitation is a catholic church in Annecy built in the first half of the 20th century on a hill at the foot of the Semnoz, a prominent location that makes it visible from the whole city. The church houses the tombs of Saint François de Sales and Sainte Jeanne de Chantal.
The Monument des Pénitents Noirs is located in Faubourg Reclus, a suburb of Chambéry. It was built at the behest of the Pénitents Noirs (Black Penitents), a Christian order tasked with taking care of those sentenced to death, by administering last rites, accompanying them to the gallows and burying the corpses. In Chambéry, they originally gathered around a large cross located at the execution ground near Parc du Verney. But when the park was redesigned in 1860, that cross was moved to the top of the Dent du Nivolet, a mountain above Chambéry: The cross (actually rebuilt a couple of times) is now known as the Croix du Nivolet and is a popular hiking destination. The Penitents also had the Monument built in Faubourg Reclus to serve as a new gathering place.
The Parc du Verney is a park in Chambéry, dating from the 14th century. It was redesigned in its current shape in 1860.
The Eglise Sainte-Bernadette is a catholic church in Annecy, located near the Impérial Palace hotel. It was designed in the brutalist style by Maurice Novarina and Claude Fay in the 1960’s.