Firminy:
the European capital of Le Corbusier

“Architecture is the wise, correct and magnificent interplay of shapes and light”, Le Corbusier.

Between Lyons and the province of Auvergne lies Firminy, a town marked by its industrial past. In the 60’s the meeting between its mayor, Eugene Claudius Petit, a former Minister of Reconstruction, and Le Corbusier, forever transformed this little town of the Loire region. Firminy today has the greatest concentration of Le Corbusier architecture in Europe. Tourists and students in architecture come to admire his work and meditate on the great architectural principles laid down by the Swiss architect.

Eugene Claudius Petit and Le Corbusier agreed on one thing: Firminy had to have a cultural centre, a stadium, a block of flats and a church built.

112metres long, the Cultural Centre is an example of technical prowess. Provided with a wall at an angle of 45° with the ground, and a roof held up by loose cables, it is unique in the world. What is more , its windows are special in that they represent a piece of music imagined by Iannis Xenakis, the famous Greek composer.
The block of flats is in fact “a unit of life to conform in size;” Le Corbusier, intended to make it a place where people could live without going out. Conceived as an ocean liner, the initial project intended shops, a post office, an entertainment hall…a school alone was built at the top of the block. The Saint-Pierre church is the last of the three religious buildings of Le Corbusier after Notre-Dame de Ronchamp and the Couvent des Tourettes (Also in Rhône-Alpes at Eveux) .Begun in the 70’s, the church , which was to be the last work of the architect remains unfinished. Today there rears an immense mass of reinforced concrete which will become one day the most successful project of he who has become henceforth the greatest architect associated with the C.20th .
Information
Tourist Office :Tel: 04 77 52 38 90

The Ardèche Gorges

A few thousand years, that is the time it has taken for the River Ardèche to dig and then carve out this imposing canyon. The nature reserve of the Ardèche gorges stretches thirty kilometres from Charme to Sauze. At a sharp bend in the river the natural arch of the Pont d’Arc towers at a height of more than 60metres, the natural gateway for the descent through the gorges in canoe-kayak or boat.

Declared a nature reserve in 1980, the Ardèche gorges and their 25 sets of rapids are the rendez-vous for those who have a passion for rafting, boating or kayaking. The most well-trained will need 7 hours to go from one end to the other of these magnificent gorges that the hiker can get down with no problem. As for the walker, he can admire them all along the D.290 road thanks to 12 belvederes that have been set up.

The Pilat Natural Park

Le Pilat is a small territory limited by the valleys of the Rhone and the Gier. A foretaste of the French South just a few kilometres to the South of Lyons, with the greenery added. The freshness of its pine groves, of its streams and its high pasturelands contrasts with the neighbouring industrial valleys. The main summits, where numerous streams take their source, culminate around 1,400metres. In the heart of this region the natural parkland of Le Pilat extends over 65,000 hectares and contains about forty parishes. Concerned about preserving the environment and promoting it, the park’s directors organize a number of activities, cultural, rural, related to crafts and tourism.

The park also offers a series of eight marked theme trails. The Jean-Jacques Rousseau trail, for example, reminds you that the writer-philosopher came to study the science of herbs here in the hills.

Similarly, to publicise traditional activities or to revive crafts now extinct, the park has opened La Maison des Arts et des Traditions Populaires ( an arts and popular traditions centre). A good way to go and discover arts and crafts and enjoy strolling in the open air.

La Maison du Parc - Maison du Tourisme : Tel: 04 74 87 52 00
info.tourisme@parc-naturel-pilat.fr

The Arts and Traditions Centre, information: Tel: 04 74 87 65 24

The Pierre Dorées

Made up of forty “communes” or parishes , the country of the “Golden Stones”, 20 kilometres to the North of Lyons, is situated at the Southern limit of the Beaujolais region, origin of one of the most famous wines in the world. A country in itself, heralding the South, scattered with gently rounded hills and green valleys, it looks like Tuscany. Indeed, the Monts d’Or owe their originality to the stone which is used to build the houses. The stone is unique, extracted from its mould made of a clay-chalk soil rich in fossils, coloured by the iron oxide that gives it its original yellow ochre tint. Since the Middle Ages , men have used these stones to build castles, churches and houses.

In the country of the golden stones, the visitor discovers true wealth, whatever his taste: villages perching on the top of hills on the road to Oingt, discreet hamlets, mediaeval remains like Anse, monuments, museums, noble vineyards as far as the eye can see, geological sites, and wonderful landscapes, bushlined paths and peaceful roads, varied forms of leisure and numerous sports.

Fashioned by man, this land has kept its authenticity, the art of good living, a hospitality that it willingly offers to the inquisitive visitor. If he takes the trouble he will meet men and women with definite values: the love of a job well done, patience, conviviality in human exchanges,. Then, like its inhabitants, the traveller will fall in love with this country with its privileged climate, where, more than anywhere else, the four elements, earth, air, fire and water come together.
Information:
Tourist Office : 04 78 47 98 15

Saint-Galmier, a town that sparkles…
with Badoit water.

To the philosophical question of whether there exists a life after eating, there is a mineral water that has given its answer. It has replied, yes.

It is in an ancient Gallo-Roman town that the Badoit spring gushes forth: Saint Galmier. From the top of the belfry of its C.15th Gothic church, you can make the most of an exceptional view over the plain of the Forez, to the West, and see the Monts (hills) of the Lyonnais region to the East. Today this town of the Loire region is known as a bathing resort, and enjoys a certain climatic mildness, has numerous parklands, the river Coise, and is bedecked with flowers. In short, situated 45 kilometres from Lyons, Saint-Galmier is the ideal spot to spend some peaceful days.

Naturally sparkling, Badoit water has been on French tables since the beginning of the century. The source of this water whose fame goes without saying, is situated beneath the old historic quarters of Saint-Galmier. There is nothing more amusing than to taste this water at its source: it is still warm. Even more amusing it is possible to visit the bottling factory free of charge, from June to September.

Information:
Tourist Office of Saint-Galmier
Tel: 04 77 54 06 08
http//:www. ot-stgalmier.fr

The Loire’s source

It is difficult to say which is the real source, the true one or the authentic one. It is the subject of a quarrel between two villages in the Mont Gerbier des Joncs. The last rampart of the Massif Central, Le Gerbier des Joncs is a wonderful natural belvedere 1,550 metres high.

Not far from Privas, the capital town of Ardèche, the Mont Gerbier des Joncs is one of the numerous treasures that are to be discovered in Ardèche. Although it takes only a short time to climb it ( half an hour) it takes a certain effort. Only good walkers with appropriate shoes and an ordinance and survey map can undertake such a climb. Once at the top the panorama is exceptional. As for the Sunday walker he can improvise a little trot at the foot of the Mont. It is always a delight to see a spring of pure, clear water that will rapidly become the river that crosses France from East to West.: the Loire.
Information: departmental tourist board of Ardèche
Tel: 04 75 64 04 66
http//www.ardeche.guide.com