(Menthon-Saint-Bernard, France)
My big sightseeing adventure in Annecy was going to see the Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard. I had never heard of it before planning this trip, although it inspired the castle in Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.” It turned out to be an interesting way to spend an afternoon.
The castle itself is located about 25 minutes by bus from Annecy, above the village of Menthon-Saint-Bernard (and Lac Annecy). I confidently took local bus #20 and got out at the village. I had heard that it was a grinding 25-minute uphill walk, as the castle is perched high above the lake. But I neglected to check my map before going, so I had to do some spontaneous navigating to figure out how to get there. The castle was always visible, but a lack of signs meant that I took some perhaps unnecessary detours before finding the right path.
After about half an hour, I arrived at the castle gate. I had time to take a few external pictures before the next guided tour (the only way to get inside the castle). Only a small portion of the 105 rooms can be seen on the tour, as the owners still live in the castle. The same family has lived here for close to 800 years…I believe the current owner represents the 23rd generation of the Menthon family.
The castle looks merely impressive from a distance, but it becomes daunting as you approach it. The walls are incredibly thick, and all the stone makes it feel quite cool inside. Many rooms do not have any windows. But those that have windows facing east have a spectacular view over Lac Annecy, the castle vineyards, mountains, and the various small villages dotting the lake.
The rooms we could see were quite dated. It almost felt like this was a “Clue” game, and we were seeing interpretations of stereotypical old-fashioned rooms. But this was not just a recreation of earlier days. The bedroom shown above still looked this way when it was being used in the 1980s. I guess it’s not easy to quickly overhaul the interior decorating in a 105-room castle.
When you have 105 rooms, some of them can be quite specialized. This castle had two chapels (one very small, one slightly larger). It also had a large library, consisting of thousands of books from the Middle Ages. Some thought had gone into it: they were sorted by subject matter (albeit 16th-century subjects) so that it would be easier to look up things. However, most of the books would be a tough slog now: they were written either in Latin or in 16th-century French, which apparently is quite different from today’s French.
Besides seeing several rooms, we climbed a very narrow spiral staircase to access a higher level. OK, perhaps it wasn’t the same as the endless stairway to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But it was a much more medieval atmosphere, and as a result even the climb itself was interesting.
After the tour was over, I took more photographs and enjoyed the view over Lake Annecy. I then took a different route back to Menthon-Saint Bernard, winding my way through the castle’s vineyards. Their wine was for sale in the adjacent gift shop, but I need to travel light on this trip. Perhaps I would have bought some if I were staying in the area for more than two nights.
I passed by a soccer match on my way back to the coastal road. I explored a little bit of the village whilst waiting for the next bus, taking some random paths and even getting asked for directions. I must have looked confident even though I had no idea where I was going.
Tomorrow, I move on to the relatively unknown Ardèche region. There is no public transportation to the village of Largentière, where I’ll be spending two weeks. But I am fortunate enough to be getting a ride from a kind lawn bowler who is heading to the same place. More details on Largentiere soon!