After the Brooks Marathon du Lac d'Annecy: Aix-les-Bains
The Route: Annecy → Aix-les-Bains (1 night) → Annecy (for onward travel) Logistics: Direct TER, frequent services, no reservation required. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night
Annecy ──(TER, ~25-36 mins, ~12 trains/day)──> Aix-les-Bains (1 night)
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Annecy ◄──(same line, reverse)──────────────────────────┘
The Brooks Marathon du Lac d'Annecy finishes on the shore of one lake; Aix-les-Bains sits on the shore of another, Lake Bourget, France's largest natural lake, reached by direct TER in as little as 25 minutes and typically around 36. Roughly 12 trains run the route each day, frequent enough that this trip needs almost no advance planning beyond picking a departure time.
April in Aix-les-Bains falls inside the town's normal working season rather than before it: the thermal baths that built the town's reputation operate year-round, and the lakefront itself needs no summer schedule to be walkable. What does thin out compared with high summer is the lake's own boat traffic and some of the seasonal lakeside food stalls, so treat the water itself as a view rather than an activity on this particular trip.
The town's whole identity runs on a slower register than either Annecy or Lyon, built for exactly the kind of one-night stay this trip is: a single spa treatment, a lakeside walk, an early dinner and an unhurried morning before the short train back. It rewards not overplanning it.
Night One: Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains has built its identity around thermal water since Roman times, and the town still leans into that: the Thermes Nationaux offer spa treatments built specifically around exactly the kind of muscle recovery a runner two or three days off a marathon is looking for, a considerably more targeted use of a spa afternoon than a generic wellness visit. Book ahead rather than assuming a walk-in slot, particularly if timing the visit around a single overnight stay.
The Esplanade du Lac, the town's lakeside promenade along Lac du Bourget, is the primary recovery asset here: a flat, paved walk directly along the water, with the lake open in front and the lower slopes of the Bauges massif rising behind it. It asks nothing of the legs beyond a level surface and gives a real sense of a second, quieter lake after two lakeside cities on the same trip already. The walk from the town centre and station down to the esplanade itself is short and flat, no climb involved either way.
Away from the water, the Casino Grand Cercle, a nineteenth-century palace built during the town's spa-tourism boom, anchors the town centre and is worth a look even without playing, since much of its Belle Époque interior is visible from public areas. Aix-les-Bains has drawn visitors for its thermal water since Roman times, and the Temple de Diane and the Arc de Campanus, both standing in the town centre, are the visible remains of that history: small, self-contained stops rather than a full archaeological site, each seen properly in a few minutes on the way past.
Where to stay: Hôtel des Eaux, whose name nods directly to the town's thermal identity, and B&B Hotel Aix-les-Bains, a straightforward budget option near the lake, both put a guest within easy reach of the Esplanade and the town centre without needing transport for either.
Where to eat: Auguste, in the town centre, is a reasonable choice for an evening that doesn't need to be elaborate: a proper sit-down meal within walking distance of wherever you're staying, on a night better spent resting than exploring further afield.
Getting Back to Annecy
Return to Annecy on the same direct TER line, around 25 to 36 minutes depending on the specific service. From Annecy, the onward connections to Geneva Airport or Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport covered elsewhere in this collection apply in full; Aix-les-Bains itself is best treated as a short lakeside add-on to the Annecy trip rather than a new departure point in its own right. Check the current SNCF Connect timetable before travelling, since TER schedules are revised between seasons.