Château de Montrottier

What makes it special

The rooms hold the collection of Léon Marès, a late nineteenth-century collector: antique furniture, faience, lace, weapons, tapestries, and objects he brought back from Africa and the Far East. Pieces from every period and every continent sit side by side, grouped by his own choices.

Marès left the estate and its collections to the Académie florimontane of Annecy in 1916, and the display has stayed as he wished. The castle stands beside one of the few old crossings of the Fier, which is why a fortress was built on this spot.

The Tour des Religieuses holds the Salle des Armes and the room of Asian collections. A cylindrical staircase, hollow at its centre, links the tower's floors.

Visiting

On arrival, buy your ticket at the castle entrance and ask for the time of the next guided tour. After the tour, the same ticket lets you walk the grounds and the other rooms on your own, and photographs are allowed without flash.

Finish with the keep, whose spiral stair climbs to the top of the castle, and the view repays the effort on your legs. Children can do the treasure hunt, which needs no booking and is included in the ticket; the escape game must be booked.

Guided or on your own

The guided tour is included in the ticket and takes you into the Salle des Armes and the Asian collections room, which you cannot enter on your own. For a tour in English or Italian, make an appointment with the castle before you come. Groups need at least fifteen people.

Tips

Pair the castle with the Gorges du Fier below, since a trail links the two. Keep your gorges ticket, because showing it at the castle entrance gets you a reduced rate.

Food and drink are not allowed in the rooms, but there is a picnic area on site, the shop sells ice creams and cold drinks, and in high season a food truck sets up on the terrace. Small dogs may come into the rooms if you carry them.