Things to see and do Rhônes-Alpes

At the crossing of roads, in an unexpected place, one discovers with interest a miniature ardéchois village built by a mason to the F. Vallon stone-Lover retreat. Adopting the traditional construction technique «opus incertum» with the irregular blocks enchassant without leaving a vacuum, it erected a small village on these heights that deserves a curious visit.

The character is unique! If you visit its museum of the unusual, you will discover a cabinet of unlikely curiosities. As a bonus, you will learn everything about the life of the master of the house born in the mid-1920s in Montélimar, to a father... nougat maker. So far nothing original! Out of the nougat, Max became a painter and travelled, lived abroad, lived in Paris, met many famous and unfamous people and collected this collection that he now shares with the public. If as a painter, he has only one subject - the woman - as a collector he is eclectic! Nearly 10,000 eccentric pieces, inventoried in the Prévert style, are on display in about ten rooms: old pipes, gynaecological instruments, cigar rings, matchboxes, posters, bidets, personal objects that belonged to President Émile Loubet... The main curiosity is still the man, Max Manent, who accompanies your visit in his imagination and his past. The museum also houses the master's work and... his own coffin covered, like a crucifix, with a woman's body, arms crossed. The circle is complete. Some rooms should be closed to children.... Allow two hours for a visit.

In the heart of the Haut-Chablais, on a 2 hectare estate, the remains of one of the most important Cistercian abbeys in medieval Savoy. Aulps Abbey has been a place of pilgrimage since the 11th century. Founded in 1095 by monks who had left the abbey of Molesme in Burgundy, the abbey of Notre-Dame-d'Aulps became independent in 1120 and Guérin de Pont-à-Mousson, the second abbot of Aulps and bishop of Sion, died there in 1150. He was soon venerated as the patron saint of livestock. The last Cistercian monks were expelled in 1792 by the revolutionaries. After the fire of 1823, the inhabitants of the village recovered its stones to rebuild their houses. Only the remains of the abbey church, the gatehouse, the cellars and the old monastic farm remain. However, these ruins have a lot of allure and the site is remarkable in more ways than one! The church has preserved its magnificent 13th century façade and the glorious abbey was classified as a historical monument in 1902. Today, it houses an interpretation center, a store, an herbal tea room, a medieval garden and vegetable garden. There is an exhibition on the daily life of the monks, their community, the history of the Duchy of Savoy in the Middle Ages and the secrets of medicinal plants. You can discover the abbey as it was before its destruction with the 3D augmented reality application Abbayedaulps and the helmets available for rent at the reception. A unique experience!

The Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Tourist Office has a warm and spacious reception area where visitors can find brochures, information panels and a children's area. The office offers a range of services, including free documentation, registration for guided tours, sales of ski passes, posters and goodies bearing the Chamonix logo, and sales of items and tickets for field hockey matches, bus excursions and the downtown tourist train. It also sells and distributes guest cards, fishing permits, last-minute hotel reservations, photocopies and free wifi access. The tourist office is open daily from 9am to 12:30pm and from 2pm to 6:30pm. It is accessible to people with reduced mobility thanks to a ramp and has reserved parking spaces nearby.

Unique witness to the Roman circus, not «Tomb Pilate's tomb» as a few romantic people would like to believe, the Pyramid stands in the middle of Fernand-Point Boulevard. This obelisk (because in fact pyramid, it is an obelisk…) placed on the central land of the hippodrome of the ancient city, marked the tank race. Up to 15.50 m and wide of 4 m at the base, there are few similar in the Gallo-Roman world. Note that this exceptional monument has been the subject of restoration.

The few known Gallo-Roman odéons served, like their Greek models, choral singing, recitals or public readings. Located in the north of Mont Saint-Just, this 72 m small theatre could contain 2 000 to 3 000 people (like the current Olympia…). Probably built under Emperor Hadrian (117-138 after Jesus Christ), on a previous building, this odéon would have been used for about four centuries. According to current knowledge, Vienna and Lyon would be the only cities to boast of having both a theatre and a odéon.