Chateaux Chillon

Here are some pics of Chateaux de Chillon, near Montreaux. It is, according to their website, the most visited historical monument in Switzerland.

The weather was sadly not great today, cloudy and overcast so the pictures are not as stunning as they could have been. On a clear day there is a fantastic view of the Alps from Chillon, as you can see on the website.

We went with our two children, 8 years and 6 years and I would say that it is a good age for visiting a castle. They were fascinated by the dungeons, the secret passages, the latrines (as only 6 year old boys can be).

I was slightly disappointed that the castle was not more furnished, as I find that very interesting - to see how it would have looked. There was a small cafe in the castle grounds, and the souvenir shop sold good quality, interesting items, not just cheap tat.

Dogs are not allowed in the castle. There is an area outside of the grounds where dogs may be left, but we preferred to leave Daphne in the car for an hour as it was quite cold outside and we are a bit paranoid about her being stolen (we have been warned not to leave her outside of shops as thieves steal small dogs).

We spent just over an hour touring the castle. If we had been there alone then we could easily have spent two or even three hours there wandering around with the iPod tour guide. There is a children's map and guide, but it was quite rudimentary with not an awful lot of information. There are lots of signs and displays giving information in French, German and English.

Entrance fees was CHF 24 for a family, and CHF 6 for the iPod tour. You must leave a passport as a deposit for the iPod.

  My daughter spotted this little detail 

Byron left his mark here, the vandal

The prison dungeon was quite spooky. And cold. 

Daughter took this one too - gory detail

But also a romantic

Not really suitable for those who find stairs difficult, there is a lot of up and down stairs. Some of them steep.

Incredible wooden ceilings, some original

.. others ceilings were rebuilt according to old plans, and assumptions of how they were originally done 

Anyone know what this is? It was in one of the fireplaces

Short beds, just 1.70m - not just because people were smaller then, but they also slept propped up on pillows

We were lucky - the photography exhibition ends this month. Stunning photos of the lake.

Don't look down