Ask a hundred European pilots where they logged their first thermal, their first top-landing, or their first mountain XC, and a surprising number will say the same word: Annecy. The lake, the Forclaz, the smell of hot grass on launch at 2pm — it's the closest thing free flight has to a shared home site.
The reputation is deserved. Lake Annecy combines reliable conditions, forgiving landing options, easy access, and enough terrain to keep an XC pilot busy for years. But "reliable" doesn't mean "simple" — the site has its own machinery, driven by the lake, and understanding it is the difference between a smooth afternoon and a confused, rowdy one. Here's the guide we wish we'd had on our first trip.
Why Annecy works so well
The geography does most of the work. The lake sits in a trench between mountain ranges: the Bornes massif (with La Tournette, 2,351 m) to the east, the Bauges to the west and south. The flying happens mostly on the east side, where west-facing slopes above Talloires and Montmin catch full afternoon sun.
Then the lake adds the second engine. Water stays cool while the slopes heat up, so from late morning a lake breeze pushes air from the water onto the sunny east-shore slopes — a steady, thermal-feeding upslope flow that keeps the ridge working for hours. On a classic summer day, the combination produces long, smooth flights that few other European sites can match for consistency.
That's also why Annecy can flatter you. The lake breeze smooths the low-level air, and the well-worked house thermals switch on almost on schedule. It's honest flying, but it's easy-mode honest — don't calibrate your expectations of Alpine air on an Annecy afternoon.
The launches
Col de la Forclaz (Montmin) — the classic
Perched at roughly 1,240 m on the col between the lake and the Montmin valley, the Forclaz is the site's icon: a wide, grassy, west-facing slope looking straight down the lake. It's where the tandem operations fly from, which tells you two things — the conditions are dependable, and launch is busy. Expect a queue on summer weekends and a marshalled, ordered launch flow.
- Orientation: west / northwest — directly into the afternoon lake breeze.
- Height above landing: about 800 m over the Doussard landing field.
- Character: smooth morning air, working lake breeze from late morning, strong thermic peak mid-afternoon in summer.
- Access: road to the col; in high season a shuttle runs between the Doussard area and launch, and local schools run their own lifts.
Planfait — the mellow one
Above Talloires at roughly 960 m, Planfait is lower, greener, and generally gentler — the training slope of the valley and a favourite for pilots who want an evening restitution flight without the Forclaz crowds. It faces west/northwest over the lake, with landing options at the bottom near Perroix.
- Orientation: west / northwest.
- Character: softer conditions than the Forclaz, excellent late-afternoon and evening flying, popular with schools.
- Bonus: from Planfait you can work the slopes toward the Dents de Lanfon and connect to the bigger terrain when the day is on.
The landings
Doussard is the main event: a big, flat, unmistakable grass landing zone at the south end of the lake, with a windsock, mowed approach-friendly surroundings, and — importantly for a site this busy — an established landing circuit. Learn the circuit before you fly, join it predictably, and keep your eyes out: on a summer afternoon you'll share the approach with a constant stream of tandems.
Perroix, below Planfait near Talloires, serves the Planfait flights. It's smaller than Doussard, so treat your first approach with respect and have a plan B height margin.
What you should not do is improvise. The valley floor looks like one giant landing option from 1,500 m, but most of it is private farmland, campsites, and reed beds near the water. Use the official zones.
How the lake breeze runs the day
If you understand one thing about Annecy, make it this. The daily rhythm on the east shore goes roughly like this in summer:
| Time | What's happening | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Early morning | Calm or light drainage flow; slopes in shade or low-angle sun. | Sled rides, smooth tandem-style air. Lovely, short. |
| Late morning | Lake breeze establishes; west faces start working. | Soaring becomes consistent; first real climbs above the Forclaz. |
| Mid-afternoon | Peak heating + established breeze; strongest thermals of the day. | Best XC window — and the most demanding air. Summer peak hours can be punchy. |
| Evening | Thermals soften; slopes release stored heat; restitution sets in. | The famous Annecy evening glass-off — buoyant, smooth air, best from Planfait. |
The trap: the lake breeze is a local wind that can mask what the gradient wind is doing above. A day that feels fine at launch can have strong meteo wind at 2,500 m — check the wind aloft, not just the windsock. And when a strong north or south gradient wind funnels along the lake axis, the nice mechanism above breaks down; those are the days locals stay on the ground while visitors wonder why.
Season: when to come
- May–June: arguably the best XC weeks — strong sun, air masses still fresh, long days.
- July–August: most reliable soaring, warmest and busiest. Midday can be strong; the evening restitution is at its best.
- September: quieter launches, softer thermals, often beautifully stable flying weather.
- Winter: flyable on sunny anticyclonic days (the Forclaz works even in December sun), but it's smooth-air sledding, not thermal flying.
XC from Annecy
When the day is right, Annecy is a real XC launchpad. The classic lines work the east-shore ridge toward the Dents de Lanfon, climb over the shoulder of La Tournette — the 2,351 m boss of the lake — and then connect toward the Aravis range and beyond. Ambitious days link toward the Bauges on the other side, or run north-south along the classic Alpine highways.
The step from "soaring the Forclaz" to "leaving on glide toward the Tournette" is bigger than it looks from launch: you trade the lake-smoothed house conditions for genuine high-mountain air, with stronger climbs, more wind exposure, and fewer landing options. Build up to it, ideally with someone who knows the lines.
Airspace and rules, briefly
Annecy's sky is regulated as well as busy. Annecy airport sits north of the lake, and controlled airspace shapes what you can do at altitude — ceilings vary by sector and change with charts, so check current airspace before you fly rather than trusting a blog post (including this one). The flying zones themselves are FFVL-managed sites with posted local rules; the launch panels and local clubs are the authority.
In Aerya, the airspace layer shows you the current published volumes directly on the map — worth a look before any flight where you plan to climb.
Reading the forecast for Annecy
Annecy sits deep in AROME's home terrain — the French 1.3 km model resolves the lake, the Tournette, and the east-shore slopes as actual features, which is exactly what you need here. What to look at:
- Wind aloft (1,500–3,000 m). The make-or-break number. Light gradient wind = the lake breeze machine runs cleanly. Strong N or S flow along the lake axis = stay cautious, whatever launch feels like.
- Thermal strength through the day. Look at when the day switches on and how strong the mid-afternoon peak gets — in July, "strong" at Annecy means you might prefer the 11h–13h or evening windows. The daily thermal cycle guide applies here almost textbook-style.
- Overdevelopment. Summer afternoons can build storms back in the Aravis and over the Tournette. If the forecast shows big convection by mid-afternoon, plan to be down — lake breeze days hide the sky's mood until it's suddenly serious.
- Convergence. On some days the lake breeze meeting the valley or gradient flow draws a workable convergence line over the lake basin — a gift when you find it.
Check today's forecast for Annecy
Aerya shows thermal strength, wind aloft, convergence and airspace for the Annecy basin on one map — built on AROME's 1.3 km terrain-aware data. Free on iPhone.
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