Jardins de l'Europe

The Jardins de l'Europe sits on a flat, narrow peninsula jutting into the northern edge of Lake Annecy. Its dense canopy of sequoias, ginkgo trees, and century-old beeches hides the gravel paths from the nearby city streets. In eighteen sixty-three, the town council converted this former island, once used for grazing sheep, into a public park to celebrate the annexation of Savoy by France. A local gardener named Perret hauled in rich soil and planted exotic species that thrive in the damp lake air.