Château d’Annecy

Annecy


With commanding views across the ochre rooftops of the Vieille Ville (Old Town) to the Massif des Bauges, the Château d’Annecy is at once imposing and elegant, a marriage between medieval defensive and decorative architectural styles. Residence of the counts of Geneva during the 13th and 14th centuries, a military barracks in the 1940s, and classified as a historical monument in the 1950s, today it's filled with regional art, from medieval sculpture and Savoyard furniture to Alpine landscape painting and contemporary art.

A dual-entry ticket grants access to both the Château and the Palais de l'Isle for €7.20 (or, for under-25s, €4); buy it at either sight.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Annecy attractions

1. Palais de l’Isle

0.1 MILES

Sitting on a triangular islet surrounded by the Canal du Thiou, the Palais de l’Isle has been a lordly residence, a courthouse, a mint and a prison,…

2. Cathédrale St-Pierre

0.12 MILES

A former Franciscan chapel consecrated in 1535, Annecy's cathedral has a Renaissance-meets-Gothic style. Drawing attention from the unadorned walls are a…

3. Vieille Ville

0.15 MILES

It’s a pleasure simply to wander aimlessly around Annecy’s medieval Old Town, where emerald-green canals flow beneath stone bridges and pastel-painted…

4. Église St-François de Sales

0.15 MILES

Inspired by the design of Rome's Church of the Gesù, this Catholic church is also known as the Church of the Italians (and hosts mass in Italian). Dating…

5. Église St-Maurice

0.16 MILES

A pale sandstone church, Annecy's oldest, made all the more dazzling by the turquoise Canal du Thiou running alongside it. Step through the 15th-century…

6. Église Notre Dame de Liesse

0.18 MILES

Largely built during the mid-19th century after its 14th-century predecessor was damaged during the French Revolution, the Church of Our Lady of Liesse…

7. Waterfront

0.29 MILES

On the tree-fringed lakefront, the flowery Jardins de l’Europe are linked to the grassy Champ de Mars, a popular picnic spot, by the poetic iron arch of…

8. Château de Menthon-St-Bernard

4.48 MILES

Twenty-three generations of the De Menthon family have lived within 1000-year-old Château de Menthon-St-Bernard. The birthplace of St Bernard in 1008 –…