THE CITY OF CHAMBERY

In the heart of the Alps, famous for its beauty and its nature, Chambéry is close to the biggest natural lake of France (the lake of Bourget) and  near the world biggest ski domain.

The city appears as hidden in the middle of mountains.

The city has a long historic past. It developed in a continuous way for the XIII century.

THE OLD TOWN

At the bend of the medieval streets you can admire the historic buildings such as the theater Charles Dullin, the Centre of Congress Le Manège, the media library Jean-Jacques Rousseau or its numerous abbeys.

Dominating the city, the  Dukes of Savoy Castle was the main home of the counts and the dukes. You can still admire there some of the former buildings, always intact, such as the Tower of Archives, the Holy Chapel or the Round Tower which was the former donjon.

The old town offers the particularity of numerous covered passages which cross the clusters of houses. By these paths, you can escape the plan of the usual streets. It is necessary to venture under the vaults and to appreciate the picturesque of the architecture, the small courtyards which have a small Italian look, stairs, capitals, uncountable opened galleries which festoon facades.

In the pedestrian zone, the Place "Saint Léger" surprises by its very stretched drawing. Clear and peaceful, it invites in the dawdling. 

Boigne's street, as indicates its real name Porticoes, is, to a more modest scale, a replica of the covered porticoes which you can admire in Turin. 

At the end of this street raises another celebrity of the architecture of Chambéry : The Fountain of Elephants, surmounted by the statue of the General de Boigne and popularized by the decoration of its base : four elephants which emerge from the stone.

THE LEISURE ACTIVITIES

 

Chambéry is the ideal starting point towards numerous leisure activities :

- In summer, you will appreciate the hikes in the famous massif of the Chartreuse or the enjoyments of the lake of Bourget where you can practise water sports, fishing or more simply idleness on one of its numerous beaches.

- In winter, you will be next to the most beautiful stations of winter sport.

- In the evening, you will take advantage of numerous cinemas, theaters or discos.