There are two private castles in the commune: the Dhéré and Ruphy castles. The Dhéré castle was built in the 15th century and is best seen from the Annecy-Faverges cycling path or from a boat cruising on the lake.
Romantically set on a promontory, the Ruphy or Châteauvieux castle is a former stronghold which was restored in the 18th and 19th centuries and was painted by Cézanne.
The castle faces Talloires and the Roc de Chère across the lake and guards the strait separating the Grand Lac and the Petit Lac. 
This romantic fortress is a private residence and cannot be visited. It is best seen from a boat on the lake.
https://frenchmoments.eu/duingt/


Chateau de Duingt

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The Château de Menthon is a medieval castle located in the commune of Menthon-Saint-Bernard, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Annecy in the Haute-Savoie department of France. Standing on a 200 metres (660 ft) tall rock, its stone towers loom over Lake Annecy, the Roc de Chère National Nature Reserve, and Menthon-Saint-Bernard. Since 1989, it has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
History
The first fortress was erected in the 10th century, around 923; it was originally a simple wooden guard post, built on a promontory dominating the ancient Roman road and Lake Annecy. The present buildings were constructed between the 13th and 19th centuries.
Bernard of Menthon (St Bernard), the patron saint of skiers, was born in the castle in the 11th century (1008). He later founded the hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass and abbeys in the high mountains.
From 1180 on, the castle has been occupied by the Menthon family. The origin of the family is uncertain but they came from Burgundy and acquired a degree of feudal power. After their arrival, they constructed the three big square towers.
In the 15th century, Nicod de Menthon was ambassador to France of the Duke Amédée de Savoie, then Governor of Nice and admiral of the naval fleet sent by the Council of Florence to Constantinople.
During the Renaissance, the medieval fortress was transformed into a sumptuous residence, seat of the Barony of Menthon. Apartments took the place of the round walk between the towers and the Menthon family bought a large quantity of furniture.
The general appearance of the castle was unchanged until 1740, when several alterations were carried out to increase comfort. A suite of spacious light rooms was added onto the side facing the lake, comprising the dining room and the grand hall of 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft) giving a view of the lake from its four windows.
In the 19th century, between 1860 and 1890, the castle was restyled (consolidation, raising of walls, adding of turrets, creation of a half-timbered gallery in the inner courtyard). by the count, René de Menthon, a fervent disciple of Viollet-le-Duc, who gave the château the appearance it has today.
François de Menthon, father of the present count, was a lawyer and member of the Resistance who represented France at the Nuremberg Trials. He worked for the creation of a united Europe and was Minister of Justice under De Gaulle.
Tourism
The castle has 105 rooms on four levels and spreads over several hundred square metres. Visitors can admire beautifully furnished rooms, in particular the Countess's Bedroom, 13th century kitchens and the great hall, admirably decorated with pictures and antique furniture dated between the 16th and 19th centuries, Louis XIII and Louis XIV furniture, a Gobelins tapestry from 1730 and others from Aubusson.
The library contains more than 12,000 works from before 1800, including incunabulum and ancient manuscripts written on parchment, sheepskin or goatskin, with painted illuminations from monks of the Middle Ages. The bulk of the books date from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
The castle is open from May to September. In summer, the visit is augmented by a troop of actors who relive the past of the castle. Each year there are some 40,000 visitors.
In 2008, for the anniversary of the birth of Bernard of Menthon, special commemorations were organized.

Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard

The Château d'Annecy is a restored castle which dominates the old French town of Annecy in the Haute-Savoie département. It was bought by the town, restored and transformed into a museum, le musée-château d'Annecy. The castle is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1959.
The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. It served as the residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours. Several times the victim of fires, the castle was abandoned in the 17th century and later repaired to serve as a barracks until 1947. The town of Annecy acquired the castle in 1953, restored it with the help of Monuments historiques and installed a museum there.
Since 1993, the Tower and the Logis Perrière have housed an observatory (l'Observatoire régional des lacs alpins).
Description
The Tour de la Reine (Queen's Tower) is the oldest part of the castle, dating from the 12th century. Its walls are over 4 m (13 ft) thick. At the bottom of the courtyard, the tower and the Logis Perrière date from the 15th century. Other notable parts of the castle are: the Vieux Logis, the Logis Nemours, the Logis Neuf. From the castle terrace there is a view over the old town with its narrow streets and decorated roofs.
The museum is installed in the Logis Vieux and the Logis Nemours. The observatory is in the Tower and the Logis Perrière.
Museums
Of particular note is the Museum of Alpine Popular Art (Musée d'art populaire alpin) with numerous regional sculptures and paintings. There is an important collection of vernacular furniture, dating from the 15th century onwards, sculpted objects, photographs and models of Alpine chalets.

Château d'Annecy

The fortified Palais de l’Île was built on a natural rocky island in the 12th century and was referred to for the first time in 1325 as a prison when the feudal lord of Annecy paid Jean de Menthoux, the master of the island, to feed two prisoners. Thirty years later, the Holy Roman Germanic Emperor Charles IV granted Count Amadeus III of Geneva the right to establish a coin minting workshop in the little castle. This activity continued until the end of the 14th century. When Annecy and the Genevois province were attached to the Duchy of Savoy following the demise of the Genevois dynasty, the castle was given to the Monthoux family as a fief.
The fortified house was subsequently bought by the Dukes of Savoy. François of Luxembourg (1445-died after 1511) with his wife Louise of Savoy and their son François II resided in the castle. At the end of the 16th century, the Palais de l’Île served as a court house and a prison. It also housed the Presidial Council of the Genevois province and the Court of Auditors. During the French Revolution and until 1865, the castle continued its notorious prison role whilst also housing barracks for the passing troops. Between 1865 and 1880, it served as an old peoples’ home before being turned back to a barracks. There were attempts to raze the building but the excessive cost involved prevented any action being taken. It was saved by being listed as an Historical Monument by the French State in 1900. During the Second World War, the Palais de l’Île resumed its prison function. After a series of restorations throughout the 20th century, the Palais de l’Île is now accessible to the public and houses the Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Centre.
Description of the Palais de l’Île The Palais de l’Île follows the shape of the two branches of the Thiou River. Its oldest part is the tower-lodge (12th or early 13th century) which today houses the exhibitions of the museum. The Entrance Courtyard
From the entrance courtyard, the façade of the castle is flanked by a quadrangular tower built in small stone apparel which houses the spiral staircase. To the left are the “Banches” offices of the lawyers and to the right, the Coin Minting Wing and the public access to the castle. 
“The Banches”
This low wing is where the lawyers had their offices. This is where business was conducted, contracts signed and conciliations made. ‘Banches’ is similar to benches in English (or counters). The lawyers had their offices set inside a low building called “les banches”. This part of the castle is not accessible to the public. 
The Coin Mint Wing
This side of the castle borders a small arm of the Thiou from east to west. The wing was built using large blocks of rock when the Holy Emperor granted Annecy permission to operate a coin mint workshop (1356-1358). Today, visitors access the castle through the former royal office building on the ground floor. The ground floor is divided into four vaulted rooms with semicircular arches, including the large gaoler’s kitchen. 
The Tower-Lodge
The Coin Mint Wing is separated from the Tower-Lodge, where justice used to be administered, by a corridor. Located on the north side of the castle and bordered by the northern arm of the Thiou, its façade was constructed of river pebbles, small limestone blocks and molasse shards.
On the first floor is a small court hearing room where judges interrogated criminals in front of three prison cells. Beyond them, the former hearing room of the Court of Justice is followed by a smaller hearing room. Both rooms now include panels explaining the urban history of Annecy.
The second hearing room opens onto the latrine area where the tombstone of Pierre Voisin, canon of the St Sepulchre Church and who died in 1744, has been oddly placed upside-down above one latrine.
The hearing rooms are surmounted by two other floors linked by a spiral staircase which was added in the 15th century.
The small Archives Room had shelves suspended by rings that supported bags of archives in order to keep them from the floor’s humidity and greedy rats. The rings can still be seen today. The dungeons of the Palais de l’Île
On the ground floor of the Tower-Lodge four prison cells can be found along the little arm of the Thiou river. The dungeons are one of the outstanding features of the castle as they reveal the conditions of imprisonment during the Old Regime. The fortress’ position on an island, which isolated it from the rest of town, was ideal for a prison. Men and women of all ages were maintained inside the four cells for committing all kinds of crimes.
Two cells were constructed in 1550 and two others were added by the beginning of the 17th century. During the French Revolution, there were more than one hundred people imprisoned at a time. In Autumn 1864, prisoners were moved to another prison site. From 1905 to 1955, two police rooms were used to house tramps during the night. They still have their bedsteads which were added in the 20th century. 
The inner courtyard of the Palais de l’Île
The inner courtyard to the East separates the lodge from the former chapel. It includes the 18th century tombstone of Jean-Baptiste Simond who was the chief judge of the courthouse from 1729 to 1748 and was on friendly terms with Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In 1906, it was used as a stone-cutter’s workshop and store. 
The Chapel
Closing off the courtyard and the castle complex, the triangular-shape chapel is flanked on the lake side by a turret. It was used by the Orthodox community in Annecy between 1928 and 1981.
https://frenchmoments.eu/annecy-palais-de-lile/

Palais de Isle

Montrottier chateau is in Lovagny, a short drive from Annecy. The castle’s location owes much to the erosion caused by River Fier; its waters have created a remarkable natural wonder: the Gorges du Fier.
In the Middle Ages the castle controlled a crossing-point over the river Fier and a road between Geneva and Chambery.
The buildings housed in the chateau’s pentagonal fortress date from between the 13th and 15th centuries. They are arranged around a cylindrical keep crowned with battlements. Despite many alterations and restorations undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, the chateau retains significant elements of medieval military architecture.
The 13th century “Tour des Religieuses” (literally “Tower of the Faithful”) is isolated on a rocky outcrop and protected to the north by the old path of the River Fier. It is the oldest part of the chateau and its function was primarily defensive. The “Logis des Chevaliers et des Comtes” (literally “Residence of the Knights and Counts”) dates from the 1400s, while the keep appears to date from the 15th century.
Over time, the chateau’s strategic and defensive value diminished, giving way to a primarily residential vocation. Several families have lived in it, notably:
Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy (1425-1427),
The Menthon family (1427- French Revolution),
The family of General Dufour, Geneva citizen, engineer, topographer and Swiss politician (1799-1839),
The Rochette family (1839-1876),
The Frèrejean family of industrialists (1876-1906),
Léon Marès (1906-1916). This wealthy connoisseur-philanthropist bequeathed Montrottier estate and his collections to “Académie Florimontane”, an intellectual society founded in Annecy in 1606-1607, by François de Sales and Antoine Favre.
The buildings of the chateau are listed historical monuments and have been open to visitors since 1919. The collections remain untouched to this day, as Léon Marès stipulated in his will.
The collections at Montrottier chateau
The chateau houses collections that are rich and near-encylopedic in size. Built up notably by Léon Marès, they consist of furniture, earthenware, tapestries, weapons, objects from Africa and Asia, as well as four bronze bas-relief masterpieces by Hans and Peter Vischer from the 16th century.
The chateau’s collections were awarded the “Musee de France” label in 2003, which recognises their inherent value and protects them at the same time. Académie Florimontane supports and encourages research on the history of Montrottier chateau and its previous owners and collections by enlisting the help of specialists from around the globe. The society also contributes regularly to other exhibitions by providing items on loan from the chateau.
Today, Montrottier chateau is proud to be one of the last bastions of the great connoisseur and to show its collections just as they would have appeared in the 19th century. Their diversity and presentational style – as stipulated in the original collector’s will – bear witness to that era’s penchant for cabinets of curiosities.
http://www.chateaudemontrottier.com

Château de Montrottier

The Château de Thorens is a castle in the commune of Thorens-Glières in the Haute-Savoie département of France. It is accessible from the north-east of Annecy by a road of about 20 km, going up to the plateau of Glières. It is often confused with the Château de Sales that was formerly its neighbour of a few hundred metres; Sales was destroyed on the order of king Louis XIII in 1630. Since the liberation of France at the end of World War II, the castle has sometimes incorrectly been called Château de Thorens-Glières, based on the current name of the commune, but it has always rightly been just de Thorens.
History
At the exit of the village of Thorens-Glières, on the road of the famous plateau of Glières, the castle appears in proud silhouette in a beautiful mountainous setting. It is built on an ancient fort dating to 1060, built by the order of count Gérold de Genève, who bestowed it upon his faithful comrade in arms, Lord Odon de Compey.
The castle was confiscated by the duke of Savoie in 1479. Many crimes, abuses and executions were reported to have been committed by the lords of Compey, so the castle was offered of Hélène de Luxembourg, spouse of prince Janus de Savoie, duke of Genève. Hélène was, however, not interested in Thorens; her daughter Louise de Savoie, who married her cousin François de Luxembourg, inherited the Château de Thorens.
Later, in 1559, Thorens was sold to Sébastien II de Luxembourg and Lord François de Sales de Boisy, father of Saint François de Sales. The Lord de Sales already owned the Château de Sales, located a few hundred metres from the Château de Thorens. Pledged also to the lords of Compey, initially, the Château de Sales thus came to the keeping of the princes of Luxembourg. The Lord de Sales occupied the prestigious charge of maître d'hôtel of the residence of prince Sébastien II. In the 17th century, the family of Sales, originating from La Roche-sur-Foron and extremely old, saw a fast rise, occupying the highest charges at the House of Savoy in Turin, going from the titles of baron to those of count and, finally, marquis.
Abused during the French invasion of Savoy in 1792, the Château de Thorens was restored in the 19th century by the marquise Alexandrine de Sales, helped by her grandson, count Eugène de Roussy de Sales. Today, the family of Roussy de Sales, headed by Félix-Léonard de Roussy de Sales, inhabits the castle year-round and undertakes its preservation.
The castle relates the life of Saint François de Sales and the family de Sales. Saint François de Sales (1567–1622), prince-bishop of Geneva, was a multi-faceted character eminently famous for his humility. His life is illustrated by liturgical goldwork, seals, episcopal clothes, paintings, documents and rare books.
The count Camille Benso de Cavour (1810–1861) is another character inextricably linked with Thorens; he stayed regularly in the castle with his cousins. When he was a prime minister for the Kingdom of Piémont-Sardaigne, Camille de Cavour concluded the risorgimento to the profit of the Savoy House, with the aid of his old friend, the emperor Napoleon III. Consequently, the county of Nice and the duchy of Savoy were annexed by France in the spring of 1860 by the Treaty of Annexation of March 24 (French: le traité d'Annexion du 24 mars). The Château de Thorens contains the personal effects of this statesman, his furniture, and his works of art; in particular, the sumptuous desk in the style of "Boulle Napoléon III" on which was signed the Treaty of Annexation.
Passing through the works of art, Flandres tapestries, masterpieces of paintings, and the furniture of the Renaissance, the Baroque period, and the Second French Empire, the visitor finally enters the heart of the castle. This residence of the nobility, illuminated with the golden light of a salon, shows the finesse of 17th century tastes. The arched kitchen (1632) gives a hint of the feasts that filled this period. The austere arched rooms of the inner fortifications evoke the life of men-at-arms, and the keep recalls the seigniorial justice system.
Tourism
The Château de Thorens can be visited
From April 1 to June 30: Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 14:00 to 18:00 hours, for individual visitors;
From September 1 to October 31: Saturdays and Sundays from 14:00 to 18:00 hours, for individual visitors;
From July 1 to August 31: every day from 14:00 to 19:00 hours, for individual visitors;
All the year for groups, excepted December 25 and January 1 (reservations needed).
The visit includes the keep, the staff waiting rooms of the 12th and 13th centuries, the kitchen with its imposing chimneys, the living rooms, the salons, and the offices richly furnished and decorated with works gathered from the time of the Italian Renaissance to Napoleon III. The garden also forms a part of the protected monuments.