You won’t be the first person to have stood on Pont Perrière for a photo of this fortified palace in the middle of the Thiou, but you have to do it anyway.

Although it has been rebuilt several times in its extensive history, the complex dates to the 1100s and for hundreds of years it was a residence handed down the noble families of the County  of Geneva.

From the 17th century the palace became a prison, and then after the Revolution it had many different functions, as a home for veterans, a warehouse and barracks.

Today it contains exhibitions about Annecy’s architecture and heritage, and you can take a look around the old courtroom, dungeon, cells and chapel.