Issues To Do In Vienne, France

Sitting on the banks of the Rhône, simply 30 kilometers south of Lyon, is a metropolis so wealthy in historical past you will not know the place to show – the Roman period, medieval popes, the Renaissance, jazz musicians… all have left their mark right here.

And whereas Vienne makes an interesting day journey from Lyon or a worthwhile cease on a Rhône Valley journey, it is not a metropolis on most France itineraries.

I might prefer to put it in your map as a result of, as they are saying, it’s completely “well worth the detour”.

IF YOU VISIT VIENNE, FRANCE

At first look, Vienne appears unassuming, a quiet riverside city usually bypassed by vacationers sure for Lyon or Provence.

But appearances deceive.

It is a metropolis with one in every of France’s richest mixes of historical past, from its huge 12,000-seat Roman theater to the medieval cathedral that hosted the historic papal council that dissolved the Knights Templar.

Add to this one in every of France’s largest weekly markets, a celebrated jazz competition and a water’s edge setting framed by hills, and Vienne jumps out as something however abnormal.

Issues to do and see in Vienne, France

Vienne is a patchwork of eras, by which medieval homes rub shoulders with Renaissance façades, and the occasional fashionable constructing peeks by between them.

Right here, then, is a better have a look at these numerous layers and on the tradition and historical past Vienne has to supply.

Roman Vienne

One in all Vienne’s main claims to fame lies in its Roman previous. The town as soon as held 30,000 residents, making it one of many nice provincial capitals of Gaul.

The famed Temple of Augustus and Livia

You may discover loads of Roman ruins right here, of which these are essentially the most well-known:

• The temple of Augustus and Livia, which dates again to the primary century CE.
• The Roman Theater, nonetheless used for its wonderful acoustics as we speak.
• The Backyard of Cybele, a small archeological park under the theater with important Roman ruins.
• Saint-Romain-en-Gal, residence of an historic Roman city and as we speak the positioning of a surprising Gallo-Roman museum and mosaic restoration workshop.
• The Vienne Pyramid, a 15-meter stone obelisk on Place Fernand-Level, as soon as the marker of the Roman circus, distinctive in France for its “Egyptian-style” kind.

Jardin de Cybèle – cease right here and search for Roman ruins in your solution to the Roman theater ©OffbeatFrance

Building works usually uncover Roman mosaics, a few of which stay the place they’re discovered, set into fashionable partitions ©OffbeatFrance

Vienne’s medieval church buildings and cloisters

Whereas many individuals go to town for its Roman artefacts, Vienne additionally performed an sudden position in papal historical past in the course of the Center Ages.

It was right here, within the early Twelfth century in Saint-Maurice Cathedral, that Archbishop Man of Burgundy was elected pope, taking the identify Calixtus II, beneath which he would later dealer peace between the Church and Europe’s rulers. He additionally occurs to have been the primary pope to formally help and legitimize the just lately created Knights Templar.

Two centuries later, one other pope, Clement V, would select the identical cathedral to host the Council of Vienne, which might dissolve the order of the Templars, a case of coming full circle.

Inside of Saint-Maurice Cathedral, together with one in every of a number of worthwhile medieval tapestries ©OffbeatFrance

Saint-Maurice Cathedral dominates the city middle with its stable Gothic traces. A lot of the stained glass on its aspect windowsis fashionable, a legacy of World Struggle II bombings that destroyed a number of bridges and close by quarters.

However take a second and lookup on the nave – you’ll be able to nearly hear the muted echoes of clerics debating the destiny of the Templars in Latin.

Close by, the small Romanesque church of Saint-André-le-Bas incorporates one of many few surviving Twelfth-century cloisters in France. It escaped destruction due to an uncommon twist: within the 18th century it was transformed into housing for employee within the textile business, which ensured its survival till its twentieth century restoration.

The cloister at Saint-André-le-Bas, one of many final remaining from the Twelfth century ©OffbeatFrance

Saint-Pierre church, one of many oldest in France, till just lately housed a lapidary museum crammed with Roman stones, sarcophagi and carvings.

The gathering was began within the 18th century and continued to develop.

So extraordinary was it that the choice was made to show the church right into a museum of historical past, to be opened within the subsequent few years. 

The inside of the museum-church is now naked however it’s not too onerous to think about what it might need appeared like – and what it’s going to seem like in future ©OffbeatFrance

Julie Chevailler, who leads the museum undertaking, says it’s a huge enterprise: “We needed to empty the church of all its contents, and a few of the stones and columns weighed tons. And we cannot be utilizing any further public areas – the church itself will probably be an integral a part of the museum.”

The Vienne Heritage Path

The town’s historic core is compact and simple to discover.

Observe the official balade dans le centre historique, (stroll within the historic middle) by getting a map from the vacationer workplace (mine is a blurred picture!) or in search of the spherical bronze plaques embedded within the sidewalk. 

These are the numbered bronze buttons it is best to comply with alongside the road… ©OffbeatFrance

Listed below are only a few of the highlights:

• Maison du Pilori – the one surviving timber-framed home in Vienne (fifteenth century), with its distinctive overhanging higher flooring.
• Place du Pilori – dotted with Roman fragments and medieval façades (that is the place miscreants had been pilloried, their head and arms positioned 
• Jardin du 8 mai 1945 – the place a stretch of Roman street and a 4th-century milestone have been preserved, together with an enigmatic stone lion as soon as thought to have come from Rome “by miracle.”
• Belvédère de Pipet – the most effective view on the town, overlooking the Rhône valley, the Roman theatre, and the Pilat Mountains, with the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette on the summit
• Château de la Bâtie – perched above the Rhône, this Thirteenth-century fortress was constructed by Archbishop Jean de Bernin and later hosted Pope Clement V in the course of the Council of Vienne. The location is closed to guests however simply seen from the belvédère.

One in all Vienne’s oldest (non-Roman) buildings ©OffbeatFrance

Aerial view of Mt Pipet and the Roman theater under ©S.Ogier

The Saturday market

On Saturdays, Vienne holds one in every of France’s largest weekly markets. Some say it’s France’s second-largest, though the Breton metropolis of Rennes competes for that very same title.

Nonetheless, locals right here will insist theirs is the most effective. Countless stalls stretch alongside the streets, overflowing with seasonal produce, cheese, charcuterie, and native specialties.

It isn’t nearly buying – it’s about ambiance. That is the place town gathers, the place small producers promote instantly, and the place you’ll be able to wander with no specific aim, nibbling, sampling, and people-watching.

Alongside meals stalls, you’ll discover native crafts, flowers, and clothes, and in December, the identical streets host a vigorous Christmas market. 

Views of the Saturday market in Vienne France – most likely France’s second largest. Prime: ©Nicolas Combe. Backside: ©GAEC-primeurs-ampuis

Jazz à Vienne

One in all Vienne’s most well-known accomplishments is the Jazz à Vienne competition, launched in 1981. 

The competition transforms Vienne right into a music metropolis, drawing round 230,000 individuals over three weeks to what has turn into one in every of Europe’s greatest jazz occasions.

The Jazz Pageant in Vienne is now one in every of Europe’s largest ©Sylvain Madelon

The primary occasion is held on the spectacular Roman theater, a first-century construction seating about 12,000, however music spills in all places: church buildings, squares, even the temple of Augustus and Livia. The complete city takes half, and locals recommend that you just e book lodging months forward as a result of in the course of the competition, town overflows.

Prime: foremost jazz venue, the Roman theater. Backside: Throughout town you will discover colourful picket benches, every with particular person designs. They had been painted and positioned by residents as a part of a neighborhood undertaking tied to the jazz competition, and they’re now a everlasting fixture ©OffbeatFrance

Tradition and fashionable life

Vienne’s cultural life extends past its monuments.

In early September, the Vienne Historique competition re-creates a medieval truthful with markets, parades, and performances within the Roman theatre.

The Halle des Bouchers phases up to date artwork exhibitions, whereas the Avenue Artwork Urbain competition every summer time turns the Estressin district into an open-air gallery.

Should you favor galleries to ruins, the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie (within the former grain corridor) pulls Roman, medieval and Nineteenth-century Vienne collectively beneath one roof.

Small unbiased retailers maintain conventional crafts alive — Poterie Dubernard for ceramics, Orijjine for zero-waste items, and Mr Coco for artistic candies.

The Vienne-Condrieu Wine Route

Vienne marks the northern gateway to the Côtes du Rhône, whose terraced vineyards — first carved in Roman instances — at the moment are the topic of a UNESCO World Heritage nomination for its two millennia of steady viticulture.

An excellent aerial view of one in every of Vienne’s vineyards, Domaine La Varia, Côte-Rôtie ©E.GUIGAL SAS / Stéphane Chalaye Photographie

The Vienne-Condrieu Wine Route gives wine lovers tastings and visits throughout 30 estates between Vienne, Ampuis and Condrieu. Many cellars open by appointment for small-group tastings, usually led by the winemakers themselves.

Strive E. Guigal and Vignobles Pichat in Ampuis, Vignobles Verzier Chante-Perdrix in Chavanay, and for wines from throughout the northern Rhône, there’s the Maison des Vins de Vienne.

Barrels within the Domaine Christophe Semaska, one in every of many glorious Vienne wineries ©DR

In fact there are a selection of festivals associated to wine. These annual occasions deserve a go to for those who’re on the town whereas they’re happening:

• Vinalia Pageant (late September): a two-day occasion at Saint-Romain-en-Gal celebrating Roman meals and wine traditions with demonstrations, tastings, and re-enactments.
• Marché aux Vins d’Ampuis (January) — a prestigious wine truthful that attracts prime Rhône producers and worldwide patrons.
• Jazz and Wine evenings (July) — Jazz à Vienne companions with native wineries.

Style one thing distinctive: the Triumph pear

A basket of triumph pears. Picture ©APictche by way of CC BY-SA 4.0

Here is one thing you will not discover anyplace else…

Within the Nineteenth century, the Triumph pear was Vienne’s pleasure. Candy, delicate, and extensively grown, it vanished when hardier varieties just like the Williams pear took over. By the twentieth century the Triumph was thought misplaced.

Then, in 2010, town sought to revive it. Cuttings preserved in Japan had been introduced again, grafted, and replanted.

At this time, the Triumph pear is as soon as once more grown round Vienne. Many of the crop goes into juice, jams and fruit pastes. You’ll discover it in retailers and on the market — a uncommon style of a fruit rescued from extinction. You too can choose up some pear-based merchandise on the vacationer workplace.

Sensible recommendations on Vienne, France

When to go: Vienne is vigorous year-round, however the jazz competition (July) and market days (Saturdays) are particularly vibrant.

How lengthy to remain: A single day from Lyon is sufficient to see the highlights, however keep in a single day if you wish to get pleasure from a competition or discover at a slower tempo. And for those who can squeeze in a Saturday, you will have the market!

Getting there: Trains from Lyon take simply 20 minutes, making Vienne one of many best day journeys within the Rhône Valley.

Consuming in Vienne: The town is peppered with eating places, and two locations I loved had been La Brasserie d’Alice throughout from the prepare station and Ô Bievva within the Previous City.

The place to remain: For a Sixteenth-century property with Rhône views, keep at La Bâtie; for those who’d relatively keep within the Previous City, there are many residences, like this tremendous central personal studio within the Previous City.

FAQ

Earlier than you go…

Vienne could not have the celebrity of Lyon or Avignon, however that’s a part of its enchantment. The place else are you able to stroll from a Roman theater to a medieval cloister, sip pear juice from a fruit as soon as thought extinct, and finish your night with jazz in a 2,000-year-old monument?

This little metropolis on the Rhône has at all times lived within the shadow of larger neighbors, which is why for vacationers, it’s at all times a shock. 

–Header picture courtesy ©Vienne Condrieu Tourisme/JFM