A land filled with history

Haute Maurienne Vanoise has a rich and living history: it is the millenary passageway to the heart of Europe, a mountain region inhabited for over 6000 years, a crossroads of varied cultural influences between France and Italy...

A land of art and history, it offers you many invitations to get to know the thousand treasures that are impatiently awaiting your visit!

 Archeological Museum at Sollières-Sardières

The Archeological Museum at Sollières Sardières is now open. A new building and an attractive installation will allow visitors to discover the evolution of human occupation and life in the alpine environment from 3000 to 200 years B.C.

Open from Christmas to the end of April and all year for groups, upon reservation.
Contact: 04 79 20 59 33

 Maurienne Baroque Space at Val Cenis Lanslebourg

From the beginning of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century, local communities undertook vast projects of enlargement and beautification of religious buildings.

Altarpieces in sculpted wood, painted and gilded with gold leaf, gave new life to the churches and chapels of the valley. Messages of faith, hope and solidarity, these decorations, largely financed by the parishioners, were the work of artists from the Maurienne. During two and a half centuries artists with names like Clappier, Amabert, Vincendet, Rey, Rosaz, Simond, Flandin, Bertrand or Portaz sculpted in arolla pine a multitude of columns, cherubs and patron saints, making Baroque art a part of mountain history and giving originality and meaning to Baroque art from Savoy.

Open from Christmas to the end of April.
Contact: 04 79 05 90 42

L'Erablo, a traditional dwelling at Bessans

Everyday life in the old times brought humans and animals together under the same roof. The need for protection from the cold during long, harsh winters and nearness to the animals for daily work caused this specific type of habitat to be developed. A witness to past ways, this type of cohabitation lasted for centuries. Discover this old way of life on a video within the intimacy of "l'Erablo."

Contact: Tourism Office of Bessans 04 79 05 96 52.
From Christmas to the end of April, visit Wednesdays at 5:30 pm (reservation required). Rate: 3 € per person, free for children under 12.

 Snow and Mountain Space

This exhibition area features photos, documents and objects that retrace the beginnings of alpinism and winter sports. Among the most well-known of the guides of Bonneval are Joseph Blanc, called "The Clerk," and Pierre Blanc, called "The Pope;" the history of their first expeditions to the Himalayas is on display.

Open from Christmas to the end of April, and all year for groups (reservation required). Contact: 04 79 05 95 95