Château de Menthon-St-Bernard

Top choice in Savoie

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 – and supposedly one of the inspirations for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle – the château clings to a forested hillside, 12km south of Annecy. Tours of the medieval interior take in tapestry-adorned salons and a magnificent library, stacked with more than 12,000 volumes dating to before the Revolution. But it’s the sparkling Lac d'Annecy panorama that leaves many visitors speechless.

At weekends, tour guides in costume add atmosphere (and entertain the kids).

Contact

Address

allée du Château. Menthon-St-Bernard

Get In Touch

07 81 74 39 72

https://www.chateau-de-menthon.com

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Jet d'Eau
23.87 MILES
When landing by plane, this lakeside fountain is your first dramatic glimpse of Geneva. The 140m-tall structure shoots up water with incredible force –…
CERN
26.54 MILES
Founded in 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), 8km west of Geneva, is a laboratory for research into particle physics. It…
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques
25.36 MILES
Geneva's premier botanical park – renowned for its Botanical Conservatory – boasts over 12,000 species of plants from around the world, meticulously…
Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève
23.32 MILES
Admission is free to the permanent collection of this excellent hands-on museum, which examines the similarities and differences of our planet's myriad of…
Cathédrale St-François de Sales
24.72 MILES
All is not as it seems inside Chambéry's 15th-century Franciscan cathedral, decorated with 6000 sq metres of trompe l’œil painting. The largest such…
Château des Ducs de Savoie
24.84 MILES
Medieval walls, Gothic tracery, trompe l'oeil detailing…Chambéry's château has acquired a wealth of styles since its founding in the 11th century. Once…
Vieille Ville
4.51 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…
Vieille Ville
23.39 MILES
A stroll around Geneva's beautiful Old Town is a must. Its main street, the Grand-Rue, shelters the Maison de Rousseau et de la Literature at No 40, where…

View more attractions

Nearby Savoie attractions

1. Waterfront

4.33 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…

2. Église St-François de Sales

4.42 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…

3. Église St-Maurice

4.45 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…

4. Palais de l’Isle

4.46 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,…

5. Château d’Annecy

4.48 MILES

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…

6. Vieille Ville

4.51 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…

7. Cathédrale St-Pierre

4.56 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…

8. Église Notre Dame de Liesse

4.59 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…

View more attractions