About this place
The Hôtel de Ville stands at the point where the Thiou canal surrenders to Lac d'Annecy, a calm, orderly building that marks the passage from the twisting medieval old town to the open lakefront. Designed by the architect François Justin and built between 1847 and 1851, it is a confident work of neoclassical architecture, with a symmetrical frontage of thirteen bays in smooth pale ashlar stone and a central portico of four Ionic columns crowned by a pediment with a clock. Its history carries a quiet surprise, for when it was begun Annecy did not belong to France at all but to the Kingdom of Sardinia, becoming French only in 1860 when Savoy was handed to the empire of Napoleon the Third. Fronted today by the gardens of the Quai Eustache-Chappuis, it remains the seat of city government, though a serious fire in November 2019 has kept it under long restoration ever since.
Key facts
- 1847 year — Construction began while Annecy still belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia
- 1851 year — Completed to François Justin's neoclassical design
- 13 bays — The symmetrical ashlar stone facade runs to thirteen bays
📍 Quai Eustache Chappuis 10, 74000, Annecy