The Pont des Amours (Lovers' Bridge) is the slender iron footbridge over the Canal du Vassé in Annecy, just where the canal meets the lake. From the middle you get the town's best-known view: green water lined with plane trees, boats gliding below, the Île des Cygnes and the mountains beyond. Local tradition says couples who kiss here will stay together for life.
The Pont des Amours at a glance
- Where: between the Pâquier lawns and the Jardins de l'Europe, behind the town hall, a few minutes' walk from the old town.
- Built: the present iron bridge dates from 1907; it replaced a stone footbridge of 1858.
- By: designed by Gaspard Fraüf, the town architect.
- What it is today: a footbridge and one of the most photographed spots in Annecy, busy from morning to night in summer.
From stone arches to iron
The idea of a bridge here goes back to an 1836 development plan for the lakeside. The first footbridge, built in 1858 to a design by the architect Ignace Monnet, had three arches, but it was too narrow for the crowds, too low for the boats using the canal and costly to maintain. In 1907 it was replaced by the light iron bridge you see today, designed by the municipal architect Gaspard Fraüf, with a single gentle arch that lets boats pass beneath.
The canal under the bridge, the Canal du Vassé, flows from the town into the lake. Today it is lined with moored boats and pedal boats, and the bridge connects two of the town's favourite open spaces: the wide lawns of the Pâquier on one side and the Jardins de l'Europe, a lakeside garden, on the other.
What to look for
- The view east along the canal to the open lake, framed by plane trees and moored boats.
- The Île des Cygnes, the little island in the lake just off the end of the canal.
- Mont Veyrier and the mountains rising above the far shore of the lake.
- The iron railings and lamp posts of the 1907 bridge, decorated with simple metal details.
- The pedal boats and tour boats passing under the bridge in summer.
Why 'Lovers' Bridge'?
No one is quite sure. The romantic explanation is the tradition that a couple who kiss in the middle of the bridge will be together forever, and couples once clipped padlocks to the railings until the town began removing them to protect the structure. A less romantic story says the bridge was once a meeting place for prostitutes. Whatever the truth, the name stuck, and so did the kissing.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning or at sunset for the softest light and fewer people on the bridge.
- Please do not attach padlocks: the town removes them because they damage the railings.
- Rent a pedal boat near the bridge to see it from the water.
- Combine it with the old town canals and the Palais de l'Île, about five minutes away.
Nearby
- Jardins de l'Europe: a lakeside garden with trees from several continents, right at one end of the bridge.
- Le Pâquier: the huge lawn along the lake, the place for a picnic with a mountain view.
- Palais de l'Île: the medieval island prison in the middle of the Thiou, Annecy's best-known image.
- Annecy Castle: the hilltop castle of the Counts of Geneva, now a museum, with views over the roofs.
See Annecy with World City Trail
Our Annecy scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 18 minutes of walking. The Pont des Amours is one of the stops, along with the Palais de l'Île and the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre.
If you prefer a different format, Annecy also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Annecy scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Annecy →
Play the outdoor escape game in Annecy →
Facts checked in October 2026.