The route de la Belle Ouvrage
The route de la Belle Ouvrage
The Route de la Belle Ouvrage is in the North-Eastern part of the Isère department, from the Chartreuse foothills to the banks of the Rhone, and travels through the regions of Isle Crémieu, the Pays des Couleurs, Porte des Alpes and Vals du Dauphiné. It offers visitors a chance to enjoy the beauty of the landscape and learn something of the history of their ancestral skills.
This tourist route travels through a well-guarded industrial heritage: cabinet-making in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, silk weaving and fabric printing in La Bâtie-Montgason, la Tour du Pin and Bourgoin-Jallieu, and stone quarrying and dressing in the quarrying area of Montalieu-Vercieu.
The stone tradition in Montalieu-Vercieu.
The stone is said to be from "Ville bois", the village in which quarrying started in the Gallo-Roman era. Documents testify to the presence of master stone masons in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Today, stone is still quarried and dressed at the Amblagnieu quarry.
La Maison de la pierre and du ciment (Stone and Cement Museum) in Montalieu
The silk tradition in Bourgoin-Jallieu and La Bâtie Montgascon.
From 1787, the first silk mill appeared in Bourgoin, following the success of the silk industry in Lyon. This industrial heritage is now centred around a few highly specialist companies and owes its survival to the fact that it has chosen quality.
The little town of Bâtie Montgascon and its surrounding area were a real "safety valve" for the Lyon silk mills, to such an extent that La Bâtie was nicknamed the "Croix Rousse of Lower Dauphiné".
The Bourgoin-Jallieu Museum
Le Musée du Tisserand (Weaver's Museum) in La Bâtie Montgascon
The wood tradition in Pont de Beauvoisin.
Since the 9th Century, this little town near to Savoie has been a place for merchants and travellers. The nearby Chartreuse with its pines, and, above all, the abundance of walnut trees have always attracted craftsmen. Today, the town's furniture makers have retained the values of irreproachable quality and finish that have led to the town being known as the "furniture town".
Le Musée de la Machine à Bois and de l'Outillage à main (Wood machine and Hand Tools Museum) in Pont de Beauvoisin
To get the best out of your trip along this road of discovery, why not buy the guide "Route de la Belle ouvrage", a 48-page book on sale in towns and villages along the road and in bookshops in Lyon.
Price: 5 €
