---
node: spot_annecy_chateau_d_annecy
type: spot
slug: chateau_d_annecy
destination: dest_annecy
title: "Château d'Annecy"
lead: "The château above the old town was the seat of the counts of Geneva from the thirteenth century and is now the town museum. Its Queen's Tower is the oldest part, built around 1200."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_annecy_chateau_d_annecy.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_of_Annecy_02.jpg"
image_author: "Krzysztof Golik"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

Fire and abandonment left it a ruin by the eighteenth century; the army used it as a barracks until 1947, and the town bought and restored it. The collections run from alpine folk art and regional painting to an observatory of alpine lakes explaining the geology and ecology of the water below. The courtyard is free to enter and worth it for the view alone.

## Highlights

Climb to the terrace for the view over the roofs to the lake — the best in Annecy and the reason to make the ten-minute walk up. The lake observatory in the Perrière lodging is the part that connects the museum to what you can see out of the window. Combine it with the Palais de l'Isle below, the twelfth-century prison in the middle of the canal.