Bugey Sud is characterised by its charming villages built of stone in the traditional style.
Typical vineyard and agricultural workers’ houses have gabled roofs with flat stones stepping down like a staircase at either end, and door and window apertures of dressed stone.
Every village has its church or chapel, its ancient communal bread oven (‘four banal’) and very often, a public washing place (‘lavoir’) and a fountain.
The landscape around the villages is dotted with ‘grangeons’, little buildings erected in the middle of the vineyards, but also fortified houses, castles and manor houses recalling Bugey’s rich history as a former possession of the House of Savoy, and then a border region with Belley as its capital. A historical tour takes you round the landmarks and monuments of the town, giving an insight into its bourgeois, religious and trading past.
The Tourist Office also arranges guided tours of Belley with specific themes and the town’s museums and heritage centres showcase different aspects of Bugey’s history and culture.
Most of Bugey's villages have retained their traditional architecture: stone houses with stone slate roofs and stepped gables, vineyard shelters ('grangeons'), communal ovens, washing houses, fountains, churches and chapels.
Explore the history and architecture of Bugey Sud's village churches and chapels.
An important borough during Gallo-Roman times Located at the crossroad between Lyon and Geneva, Belley benefited from a strategical position throughout history. Excavations carried out in 2008 uncovered a vast...
As you enter the town of Culoz, this 14th-century architectural towers stands magnificently above you. It has been a host for several famous figures over the centuries.
Bugey has lots of cultural venues where regional history and traditions are kept alive and visitors get a real insight into local life.
Itineraries that take you round specific places of interest, heritage sites or natural beauty spots in Bugey Sud, depending on your mood and where you are starting out from. Including the Carved Stone Statues Trail, the First...
