Haute-Savoie

Bout du Lac - DoussardPlage d'Albigny

1. 

   Bout du Lac - Doussard

   freshwater lake

   Bout du Lac is the kite launch at the south end of Lake Annecy, a strip of shore between Doussard port and the pebble point where the Bout du Lac nature reserve begins.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonSep to Jun

   1. Jan, riders' monthJ8
   2. Feb, riders' monthF2
   3. Mar, riders' monthM3
   4. Apr, riders' monthA2
   5. May, riders' monthM5
   6. Jun, riders' monthJ2
   7. JulJ0
   8. AugA5
   9. Sep, riders' monthS5
   10. Oct, riders' monthO0
   11. Nov, riders' monthN7
   12. Dec, riders' monthD2

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

   The model is wrong here

   The modelled series peaks at 8% of days and never reaches 15% in any month, at a place that is ridden all season. The figures are drawn rather than dropped, and they are not the answer — the months riders name are.

   Bout du Lac - Doussard: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Bout du Lac - Doussard

   The reserve is closed to you, on foot and on the water, and the reed beds with it. Wind is mountain-lake wind: a north tendency with the afternoon thermal on top, 10-20 knots on the good days, and a bise that runs 10-14 knots with gusts to 25, none of it as regular as a coast. Kiting is allowed from 1 September to 30 June, 13:00 to sunset, and not at all in July and August when the beach belongs to the swimmers; the site carries the FFVL label and is listed as intermediate level. That timing suits the thermal anyway, since mornings are mostly calm. A buoyancy vest is compulsory on the lake. This is a spot for foil and freeride riders, not a place to learn: the shoreline is tight, the port and its ponton are just to the west, and paragliders use the same field to land, so you share the rigging area with people coming out of the sky. Park at the Plage de Doussard, cross the port and the little wooden bridge, and rig on the stabilised lakeside zone.

   Getting on the water

   Rig and launch from the lakeside strip between Doussard port and the pebble point that marks the reserve edge. Park at the Plage de Doussard, cross the port and the small wooden bridge, and you come out on the stabilised zone by the restaurants. Walking to the pebble point with the kite up is tolerated; cutting through the reserve or the reeds is not.

   If it goes wrong

   Lessons are run in open water behind a safety boat, and boat drops are sold to get riders out to the wind. On your own there is no kite rescue on the lake that anyone has confirmed, which is part of why the buoyancy aid is compulsory. Emergencies on the water go to 112.

   Room to rig

   Large open lakeside zone, also used by paragliding schools for landings and by kite riders for wing/line preparation.

   Rules and access

   2026: open to kites from 01/09 to 30/06, 13:00 to sunset, and closed from 01/07 to 31/08. The Bout du Lac nature reserve is off limits, on foot and on the water, and navigation must stay at least 50 m clear of the reed beds. A buoyancy aid or life jacket is compulsory for kitesurf on Lake Annecy. Walking up to the pebble point with the kite already raised before launching is tolerated; entering the reserve is not. Lake-wide, motorised watercraft, towed devices and hydro-propelled lift craft are banned, and it is not locally clear that kitefoil escapes that wording.

   Everything on Bout du Lac - Doussard

2. 

   Plage d'Albigny

   freshwater lake

   Albigny is the south-wind spot on Lake Annecy: a grass public beach at the Petit Port end of Annecy-le-Vieux where the local foil riders go when a southerly fills in, typically 12-17 knots, and the water gets choppy fast.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonOct to Apr

   1. Jan, riders' monthJ5
   2. Feb, riders' monthF5
   3. Mar, riders' monthM2
   4. Apr, riders' monthA12
   5. MayM8
   6. JunJ2
   7. JulJ0
   8. AugA2
   9. SepS3
   10. Oct, riders' monthO3
   11. Nov, riders' monthN5
   12. Dec, riders' monthD2

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec.

   The model is wrong here

   The modelled series peaks at 12% of days and never reaches 15% in any month, at a place that is ridden all season. The figures are drawn rather than dropped, and they are not the answer — the months riders name are.

   Plage d'Albigny: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Plage d'Albigny

   The bise from the north runs 10-14 knots and sometimes up to 25, but Albigny sits in its shelter, so a bise day is usually not an Albigny day. This is a foil spot more than a twintip spot, and an urban one: big trees to the north-east, the UNCA sailing club and its parking to the north-west, and a buoyed swimming rectangle right next to the departure area in summer. It is legally open all year from sunrise to sunset, but in July and August you are asked to walk around the basin and launch farther upwind from the end of the dyke, and a buoyancy vest is mandatory for kiting on the lake. The rideable window is short and the wind is a mountain-lake wind, so the useful season is the cold half of the year, October to April, when the beach is empty and the southerlies come through. Nobody teaches kite here; no kite school or rental in Annecy is on record. If you cannot self-launch cleanly on a crowded lawn, skip it.

   Getting on the water

   Grass beach at the Petit Port end of Annecy-le-Vieux. Outside summer you can rig on the preparation lawn and go straight in; in July and August riders raise the kite, walk around the basin and start upwind from the end of the dyke. In a south wind the sheltered water behind the dyke is the place to get in. Park in the large car parks across the avenue du Petit Port, though in winter parking at the launch itself is tolerated for riders; the sailing club's boats have priority on the slipway and in the parking either way.

   If it goes wrong

   No dedicated kite rescue service is on record; respect UNCA boat movements and the supervised bathing zone.

   Room to rig

   Constrained public urban beach bordered by large trees to the northeast, the sailing-club parking/UNCA area to the northwest and a supervised swimming zone nearby in summer.

   Rules and access

   2026: Plage d'Albigny / Annecy-le-Vieux is open all year from sunrise to sunset, and Le Petit Port carries the FFVL label. Riders are asked for maximum caution and respect toward other users; in July and August you raise the kite, then walk around the basin and start farther upwind from the end of the dyke. A buoyancy or life jacket is mandatory for kitesurf on Lake Annecy. The buoyed swimming rectangle beside the departure zone is to be avoided even when empty. Kitefoil is reported as no longer authorised on the lake, though the regulation is unclear and foils are commonly seen off Albigny, so check before you rig one.

   Everything on Plage d'Albigny

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Known for France:easyJetRyanairAir FranceTransavia

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

1. Riders who have actually spent summers on this lake say it is rarely windy, and the standing answer to 'should I bring my gear in July' is no unless you foil. A local put numbers on it years earlier: a low-wind region, mostly 10 to 14 knots, with only a few good days at 15 to 25, so a big kite and a big board are the default.

   consensus×4 riders

2. The southern spot is shut for the whole of July and August, and outside those months it only opens at one in the afternoon. So the season when a family is on the lake and the season when you can rig there do not overlap.

   majority×2 riders

3. People asking about Annecy get pointed somewhere else. The alternative that keeps coming back is Lac du Bourget, half an hour or so away, where the valley funnels the wind and it is described as surprisingly steady by comparison.

   majority×2 riders

4. Whether you can kite here at all is something people get wrong. Riders have said flatly that it is not allowed and that they have never seen it done; locals correct them — it is allowed, but only in marked zones, on restricted hours, with the rules posted on boards at each beach.

   contested×3 riders

What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.

• Is 'Haute-Savoie' the name riders actually use for this area?
• Does Annecy-Meythet have scheduled flights, or is Geneva or Lyon the only way in?
• Where should you stay in Haute-Savoie, and what does it cost?
• No sim/internet, solo-traveller or nightlife specifics were found for the Annecy area.