Not to be missed near

the Dombes

Visiting the Dombes region? Take the opportunity to discover the nearby must-sees!
The Royal Monastery of Brou, the Domaine des Saveurs, the medieval town of Pérouges, the Izieu Memorial Museum and much more!

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Pérouges

A journey back in time!

A medieval village, just 30 minutes from the Dombes region.

Like a movie set still inhabited, the simple beauty of the late-medieval village of Pérouges will leave you in awe.
Its symbols are the lime tree, the Pérouges sugar pie and the artisans’ dwellings.

The town is a coherent ensemble of late medieval artisans’ and merchants’ houses built entirely of stones and brickwork. With its many exhibitions, markets and historical events, Pérouges is a little gem that invites you to stroll around and gaze in wonder.
Its unity and charm make it a timeless place, the safeguarded witness to one of the strongholds of the powerful Duchy of Savoy. Pérouges is one of the three beautiful medieval villages of the Dombes region, a place steeped in tradition and full of culinary delights. Not to be missed!.

Hurry, come and visit Pérouges, the medieval town just a stone’s throw from Lyon. Join one of the guided tours organised by the tourist office to learn more about this little gem.

Perouges Bugey Tourisme

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the Izieu Museum

The Izieu Memorial Museum

Clinging to the Bugey Mountains in the department of Ain and overlooking the river Rhône, the Izieu Memorial offers a unique panorama of the Dauphiné, Chartreuse and Vercors regions.
Situated in an area prized for its vineyards, lakes and rivers, and for its built heritage, the memorial museum is a pleasant, educational place of remembrance.

To visit the Izieu Memorial is to retrace the history of France and of the 44 Jewish children and their 7 supervisors who were rounded up on April 6, 1944.

A visit to the memorial museum is an essential step in understanding the historical context of the Second World War, mutual aid networks and international criminal law, but also the humanist values embraced by Sabine Zlatin, the former director of the Izieu children’s camp, and her determination to keep the memory alive, so that the traces of the past may nourish the present and the future.

The story of the children’s shelter of Izieu became world famous during the Nuremberg trials of 1945 and the 1987 case of Klaus Barbie in Lyon, which brought the Nazi criminal to trial for the first time in France for crimes against humanity, thanks to the action of the Klarsfeld couple and numerous witnesses.

Today, the Izieu Memorial is a welcoming place that aims to maintain our vigilance and, through the memory of the children and supervisors of the Izieu shelter, deliver a universal message and act against all forms of intolerance and racism.

Visiting the Izieu Children’s Shelter

When you arrive, you’re struck by the beauty of the place that contrasts with the history it bears.
At the end of the road, you’ll make out the house with the blue shutters, a place of remembrance where the children of the Izieu shelter lived from spring 1943 to that tragic day of April 6, 1944. Wandering around the site, visitors will stop to look at the 1993 national stele and the commemorative plaques fixed to the walls, to pay their respects and try to understand.
The Izieu shelter has become a veritable landmark in the history of children in the Holocaust, and a place to remember the solidarity of the surrounding population. It is the only place of remembrance where Jewish children lived in a haven of peace despite the difficult context of separation from their families.
Alone or accompanied by a guide, allow several hours to visit the memorial museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions.

The Shelter

The shelter collects letters, drawings and photos that bear witness to day-to-day life here, from spring 1943 to the roundup of April 6, 1944. You’ll see the different rooms of this house which is now a listed historical monument: the classroom, the refectory, the dormitories…
The house can only be visited with a guide and by reservation. Duration: 50 minutes.

The Museum

Close to the shelter, the museum is fully integrated into the old barn.
The three areas of the permanent exhibition and its many digital devices enable visitors to explore and discover the historical context of the Second World War, the networks that aimed to rescue Jewish children, international criminal law and the construction of memory today. Duration: 2 hours for a free tour of the permanent exhibition.

The Izieu Memorial

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Bugey

Haut-Bugey and Bugey Sud

A region just 30 minutes from the Dombes

Located at the southern end of the Jura Massif, Bugey is divided into two parts: Haut-Bugey, with chief townsNantua, Oyonnax and Izernore, and Bugey Sud, closer to Belley.

Go exploring along its roads, paths and trails, to discover a rich and varied built and natural heritage. A region for lovers of the great outdoors, with wild, unspoilt landscapes ranging from the Albarine Gorges to the lakes (including Lake Genin) and forests of Haut-Bugey, not forgetting the Grand Colombier site. Fishing, sailing, hiking, horse-riding, cycling and mountain biking, paragliding, climbing, via-ferrata, cross-country skiing, dog-sledding and snowshoeing are just some of the activities the region has to offer.

Also discover an AOC vineyard and typical villages such as Cerdon and Saint-Sorlin-en-Bugey

The Cerdon Caves

A journey back in time with family or friends to discover the underground world.
Immerse yourself in Prehistory and learn the skills of our ancestors!
The Cerdon Caves: between the underground world and prehistoric activities in the park… A world from the depths of time that will take young and old back into the past. This 45-minute to 1½-hour tour takes you from the point where an ancient river disappears underground, to its resurgence in the middle of a cliff overlooking the Cerdon valley.

To make sure you don’t miss a thing, download: audioguide.grotte-cerdon.com

It’s strange and fascinating to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors who once occupied these natural shelters.
Round off your day in the great outdoors with prehistoric activities in the park, including workshops on prehistoric painting and adornment, fire-making techniques, archaeological digs, spear-shooting and Neolithic pottery.

Cerdon Caves

Not to be missed

in Bresse

The Royal Monastery of Brou

An emblematic site, just 30 minutes from the Dombes.

Built by Margaret of Austria to house the tomb of her late husband, the Brou Monastery in Bourg-en-Bresse is an ode to love, a mausoleum and, above all, a must-see monument in the department of Ain.

With three cloisters, an art museum including a new Renaissance gallery, a temporary exhibition, Margaret’s apartments and their modern museography, the intricate stonework of the church, and the rare rood screen from which you can admire the choir, the royal monastery of Brou alone makes it worth your while to visit Bourg-en-Bresse!

Built between 1505 and 1532, it was commissioned by Margaret of Austria in memory of her unconditional love for Philibert le Beau, Duke of Savoy, who died prematurely at the age of 24. Built in the flamboyant Gothic style, this monument, with its resplendent glazed roof, offers three cloisters, a magnificent church with a finely sculpted altarpiece and a rare rood screen, which visitors are invited to climb to enjoy a view of the nave, the three princely tombs in the choir and the stained-glass windows, as well as a municipal fine arts museum and the Prior’s apartments, which give access to the upper galleries of the third cloister, from which you can admire the roof from a low angle.

Bourg-en-Bresse Destinations

Le Domaine des Saveurs – Les Planons

The must-see site for gastronomy in the Ain, 30 minutes from Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne.

An emblematic cultural site of the Ain department, le Domaine des Saveurs – Les Planons reveals a land of gastronomy where the art of eating well has always been combined with a tradition of quality products.

The museum site can be found at the gateway to Lyon, Switzerland and Burgundy, between Bourg-en-Bresse and Mâcon. It is located on the Domaine des Planons, which includes a Bresse poultry farm classified as a historical monument.

A visit to the Domaine des Saveurs allows you to discover the rich heritage of the Bresse region, immersing you in the life of the local people from the 15th century to the present day, and in the gastronomic tradition of Ain and its regions.

Its collections reveal a gourmet land where the art of eating well has always been combined with a tradition of quality products, be they AOP, AOC or simply delicious… including the world-famous Bresse chicken.

Le Domaine des Saveurs – Les Planons

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Beaujolais

The Beaujolais region and its vineyards

A region just 45 minutes west of the Dombes.

A region that’s world-famous for its vineyards, Beaujolais offers verdant, rolling landscapes dominated by 16,000 hectares of vines. Beaujolais is divided into four tourism zones: Beaujolais Vignoble, Beaujolais Vert Nature, Beaujolais des Pierres Dorées and Beaujolais cœur de ville.

Wine lovers will be delighted to sample one or more of the 10 crus, including Brouilly, Chénas and Saint Amour.

But Beaujolais is also home to some forty remarkable villages built of golden ochre stone, surrounded by vineyards and, in some cases, perched high on the hillside. We recommend the medieval town of Oingt, listed as one of France’s most beautiful villages, as well as Bagnols, Ternand and Jarnioux.

Not forgetting, of course, other villages such as Beaujeu, Villefranche-sur-Saône, and Salles-Arbuissonnas-en-Beaujolais.

When it comes to walking, the Beaujolais region offers numerous signposted trails in the heart of a landscape made up of valleys and hills in an alternation of meadows, forests and vineyards. Must-do walks include:

Mont Brouilly, for a superb panoramic view over the vineyards and the river Saône
Mont Saint Rigaud, for a 360° panorama

Destination Beaujolais

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Lyon

Lyon, city of light, only 50 minutes from the Dombes region

Between the Rhône and Saône rivers, Lyon, the Florentine city, capital of the Gauls under the Roman Empire, world capital of gastronomy and elected European capital of smart tourism, is a large and beautiful metropolis well worth a visit. Lyon can’t be summed up in a few lines, so the best thing to do is to come and stay in the Dombes region and take a day trip by train to this must-see city.

Lyon, the City of Light

You absolutely must visit the districts of Old Lyon, the slopes of Croix-Rousse, the hill of Fourvière and a large part of the Presqu’île, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The four historic districts, covering a total of 500 hectares, invite you to take a walk through the ages.

In Lyon, there is something for everyone:

Admire a panorama from one of the hills of the metropolis near Fourvière or Croix-Rousse
Walk through the Renaissance streets of the Old Lyon district, with its courtyards, traboules and Saint-Jean Cathedral
Discover the history of the silkworkers and the silk district of Croix-Rousse in a modern artistic atmosphere
Walk along the Presqu’île from Place Bellecour, the largest pedestrian square in Europe, to Place des Terreaux to go shopping and admire the 19th-century architecture. a demonstration of the opulence of the bourgeoisie of Lyon
Stop to admire the Town Hall, the Opera, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Grand Hôtel-Dieu
Participate in one of the key local events, such as the Festival of Lights or the Fourvière Nights.

Visit Lyon