Great expectations… and disappointments to match
As impressive as the castle looks from the outside, the visit itself was just as disappointing.
I'll start with what I liked (because this list is way shorter than the one with the negative points):
1. The painting gallery, where you can admire several works (originals, according to the supervisors) by great painters, including a small painting by Fragonard and, most notably, "The Massacre of the Innocents" by Pieter Brueghel the Younger
2. The (temporary) exhibition "L’épopée burgonde" - the arrival and installation of the Burgundians in Haute-Savoie region
3. Behind the castle, there is a spot from which you can admire Lake Annecy surrounded by mountains
What I didn’t like:
1. Most of the rooms in the main castle building are completely empty: no furniture, drawings, paintings, period clothing, weapons, courtly objects… nothing but cement and wood
2. An almost total lack of information — the organizers didn’t bother to put up even basic informative panels, so many tourists wandered around speculating: “this was probably where…”
3. Many areas inside the castle are not accessible to the public
4. The old shooting holes have been “completed” with modern windows, which not only spoil the charm of the building, but also prevent visitors from taking photos, as the glass is far from transparent
5. The modern art exhibition is absolutely ridiculous — in fact, it’s not art at all (I’ll upload a picture so you can judge the quality of these so-called “works”). On top of that, the exhibition takes up many rooms on the upper floor — so many that it felt like it would never end
6. The other two buildings of the complex host exhibitions that have nothing to do with a medieval castle; for example, one of them focuses on the fauna of the nearby lake and on fishing vessels… well, if I want to know more about the fish in the lake, I’ll go to a fish-farming museum or a natural science museum, right?
7. In the basement of one of the towers there are several tiny aquariums, poorly maintained and without plants for the animals to hide in; each contains a few unhappy fish swimming in endless circles
8. The crenels of the towers have also been covered with windows through which you can’t take pictures (in fact, you can’t even see properly). This is even more frustrating because some of these windows overlook the beautiful Lake Annecy
9. If you’re thinking of climbing the walls or the fortified gate, think again — access is prohibited
10. On top of everything, I stood in line for tickets for a very long time… and I really regret doing so.
Final score: 2 stars, and those only for the art gallery (which could just as well have been housed elsewhere, not in a restored medieval castle) and for the exhibition dedicated to the Duchy of Burgundy. Without them, even one star would have been too generous.