The Annecy Venetian Carnival

Every year, an intriguing tradition sees hundreds of people in masks and colourful, Renaissance garments parading down the streets of this city, drawing attention from all over the world.

No, this isn’t Venice, but Annecy, a city in the French Alps, near the border with Switzerland. It shares other features with Italy’s storied ‘Floating City’, such as picturesque streets and an intricate network of canals, but it’s a beautiful place in its own right. Home to the clearest lake in Europe and a world-leading destination for paragliding, it’s also one of the most romantic places in France.

Summer is of course the warmest time to visit this stunning locale, but that means you’d miss out on the Venetian Carnival, which usually takes place a fortnight after Mardi Gras. This year, the event falls on the weekend of the 7th, 8th and 9th of March. During the carnival, you can expect to see hundreds of masked figures posing and roaming around town in groups or individually. Alongside the artistic merit of the costumes, which the wearers must make themselves, and which recall the characters of the Commedia dell’Arte, the anonymity of the spectacle is tantalising. No one knows who is behind the masks!

While the Venice Carnival is nearly a millennium old, the version on display in Annecy only dates back to 1996, a year after the town became twinned with Vicenza, Italy. The partnership was brought about by ARIA (Association Rencontres Italie Annecy), an initiative which aims to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries, and whose membership has grown from five people in 1995 to seventy today. Over the past thirty years, the Carnival has become a popular event, especially for budding photographers, who descend on the scene to take snaps of the colourful outfits and gorgeous environs.

• The most romantic places to visit in France
• The Festival d'Avignon