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Experience Chambery from HOTEL LE CINQ

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Nestled in the heart of the charming city of Chambéry, HOTEL LE CINQ invites you to immerse yourself in the cultural and natural richness of Savoie and the Rhône-Alpes region. A stay here offers the opportunity to explore the Château des Ducs de Savoie, a landmark that traces the fascinating history of the Dukes of Savoy. Nature enthusiasts will find the Chartreuse Regional Nature Park a must-visi...See more

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Discovery walk: Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Chambéry
479 m

Discovery walk: Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Chambéry

Rousseau's stay in Chambéry with Mme de Warens was a decisive stage in his life and in the development of his thought. After Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Stendhal and so many others, follow in the footsteps of the Enlightenment philosopher. The route starts at the foot of the Château des Ducs de Savoie (Castle of the Dukes of Savoie). Rousseau arrived in Chambéry in September 1731. Thanks to Madame de Warens he got work in the land registry service, set up in the Tour Trésorerie (Treasury Tower). Having little interest in this boring work, he resigned very quickly: "I was twenty years old, nearly twenty-one... I was going to work reluctantly, the assiduousness and tedious nature of the work was unbearable torture for me, I finally decided to leave my employment to abandon myself totally to music." Go up the "Rue Basse du Château" and turn right on the "Place Saint Léger" square. Cross the "Rue de Boigne" and enter the covered passageway to the right of the Yves Rocher shop, the "Allée Jean-Jacques Rousseau". It is at the end of this courtyard where you'll find the Hôtel de Saint Laurent. Chambéry had a population of 10,000 inhabitants at this time. The town was rather insalubrious and enclosed by its ramparts. Madame de Warens occupied the house of the Count de Saint-Laurent: "The house she lived in was dark and sad, and my bedroom was the darkest and saddest in the house." From 1735-1736, Rousseau persuaded her to get a house in the country in Les Charmettes, which she would occupy especially in summer, while still keeping her townhouse. Cross the small courtyard on your right and continue on the "Allée de la Cure" to reach the "Rue Métropole". Go up the street to the Cathedral and take the covered passageway situated at the end of the "Place Métropole" on your right. You arrive in the "Rue Croix d'Or" which is home to beautiful townhouses like the Hôtel des Marches de Bellegarde or the Hôtel Castagnéry de Châteauneuf. The young Rousseau gave music lessons to young girls of Chambéry's nobility in such residences. "Here am I all of a sudden thrown among the beautiful people, accepted, sought after in the best houses; everywhere a gracious, pleasant welcome, a festive air: nice, well-dressed damsels await me, greet me eagerly, I smell only roses and orange blossom; we sing, we laugh, we enjoy ourselves." When you arrive in front of the Théâtre Charles Dullin, take the "Rue Denfert Rochereau" to the right then cross the "Carré Curial" opposite you. On the other side take the "Rue de la Calamine" then go up to the "Avenue de la Grande Chartreuse" through the "Parc de la Calamine". Cross the street and take the "Chemin de Jean-Jacques" facing you. Then take the signposts marked "Les Charmettes, Maison de Jean Jacques Rousseau". You arrive at the Musée des Charmettes museum, the emblematic place of Rousseau's presence in Chambéry. Madame de Warens, who he called "Mother" rented a little garden in one of the suburbs of the town. That was where Madame de Warens decided to take him away from "perils of his youth" to treat him like a man: "I saw myself for the first time in the arms of a woman, and a woman I adored". (Confessions, book V). His description of Chambéry is embellished by memory: "If there is a small town in the world where you taste the sweetness of life in pleasant and trusty company, it is Chambéry. The provincial nobility which assemble here have everything for living well, but not enough to succeed. The women are beautiful and could do without being beautiful, they have everything to enhance their beauty and to even complement it. It is worth noting that I have seen many young ladies because of my position, I do not recall seeing any in Chambéry that were not charming." (Confessions, book V) To get to the town centre, descend the "Chemin des Charmettes" then the "Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau". At the roundabout take on your right the "Rue Plaisance" then, at the end of this street, go left on the "Rue Pasteur". Go up it and at the end turn right on the "Rue de la Banque". When you arrive on the "Place d'Italie" , take the "Passage du Mont Blanc" to the left then turn right on the "Rue du Théâtre" and continue straight on to the "Fontaine des Eléphants" where the trail ends, in the heart of the town dear to the great philosopher. This period in Chambéry is indeed fundamental in Rousseau's life: "It is during this precious interval that my desultory and mixed education having taken shape made me what I no longer ceased to be through the storms that were awaiting me" (Confessions, book V). He devoted himself to the study of science and especially music. He organised small concerts in Madame de Warens' home, taught music to the young girls of the polite society, formed solid friendships: Gauffecourt, the Marquis of Conzié, who opened his library. Rousseau left Chambéry from September 1737 to February 1738 for a trip to Montpellier, then he stayed in Lyon from April 1740 to April 1741. Finally, he was ousted from Madame de Warens' house by a younger man, he left the Savoy region in 1742 for Paris. Madame de Warens died miserably in July 1762 and is buried in Lémenc Cemetery. On July 25th 1768, Rousseau went to Madame de Warens' grave and met his friend, Conzié. In 1910, a statue of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, sculpted by Marius-Mars-Valett, was erected at Clos Savoiroux. The more motivated can prolong this walk following the traces of Rousseau and visit Lémenc Cemetery. From the "Fontaine des Eléphants", take the "Rue Claude Martin" then traverse the "Place de la Libération" and go up the "Boulevard de Lémenc" to the "Parc du Clos Savoiroux". Go through the park via the "Allée René Cassin". Be sure to make a small detour to admire the statue of Mars-Valett and go back down via the "Boulevard de Lémenc" to the large turn. Turn left on the "Rue Amélie Gex" then again turn left on the "Rue Burdin". You arrive at the Église Saint Pierre de Lémenc (church), which is next to the cemetery where the benefactress of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Madame de Warens lies (please note that the cemetery is not open to the public).

4 h
6.3 km
Very easy
Place du Château 73000 Chambéry
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau statue
138 m

Jean-Jacques Rousseau statue

Statue de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, sculpted by Mars Valett in 1910. ‘It’s a shame that the Savoyards are not wealthy, or maybe it would be a shame if they were… for whatever they are, they are the best and most friendly people that I know. If there is a small town in the world where you can taste the sweetness of life in agreeable company, it’s surely Chambéry’. (Les Confessions, Book V). In 1728, at the age of 16, Rousseau decided to leave his home town of Geneva, and after a few days of wandering, he arrived in the Savoie. The priest of Confignon welcomed him and sent him to a ‘charitable good woman’ in Annecy. Madame de Warens received the young Jean-Jacques in her home, and despite her being 12 years his senior, Rousseau soon fell under her spell. Françoise-Louise de Warens was born in Vevey, in the Vaud region. Abandoned by her husband, she decided to convert to Catholicism, as, in the Savoie, it had a significant amount of wealth, during a period of intense power struggle against the Reform. The King of Sardinia, Victor-Amédée II, provided Madame de Warens with an annual pension to welcome Swiss Calvinists who had fled to the Savoie to join the Catholic church. Rousseau renounced Calvinism and was baptised in Turin within a few days, before returning to Madame de Warens’ house in Annecy. A few months later, at the beginning of autumn 1731, he found her again in Chambéry, where she had recently moved. ‘The house that she lives in is sombre and sad, and my room is the most sombre and saddest of them all. A view of a wall, a cul-de-sac for a road, no air, no space, crickets, rats, rotten boards – hardly conducive to pleasant lodgings. But I was with her, close to her…’ Madame de Warens found Rousseau (her future lover) a job at the ‘mensuration Générale de Savoie’, that is to say in the Sardinian land registry, in the Château. The adventurous spirit of the young man quickly tired of the routine and monotony of such a job, so he would find excuses to read and learn arithmetic, geometry and design. For the time being, he was uninterested in botany. However, since he was a child, music completely absorbed him - this passion would last his whole life. He would organise small concerts, with the help of artists and amateurs, and offered his services as a professor of music theory and singing for well-heeled young ladies, despite the misgivings of his protector. From 1735 or 1736, Madame de Warens and Jean-Jacques would spend the summer in the Charmettes estate.

Boulevard de Lémenc 73000 Chambéry
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Museum of Fine Arts
173 m

Museum of Fine Arts

The renovated Musée des Beaux Arts contains a collection largely composed of Italian works from the end of the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century, but it also displays works that help us to understand the history of art in the Savoy region. The Grenette building This corn exchange, previously known as a ‘grenette’, was located along the Medieval ramparts of the ducal city and surrounded by the Leysse, the river deviating from the Lac du Bourget. Closed down in the 19th century, it was repurposed as a voting booth for the union of the Savoie region and France, before being transformed into a museum-library in the 1880s. Renovated between 2009 and 2011, the unique architectural character of this building was restored, exploiting the diversity of the three rooms: the pillars under vaults on the ground floor, the metallic, Eiffel Tower-like aspect of the first floor, and the large windows of the second floor. Permanent collections Early art The 15th century is considered to be Savoie’s Golden Age. Combining both northern (Flanders, Germany, Switzerland) and Italian influences, these extremely rare wooden paintings demonstrate an exceptional artistic quality, marked with various archaisms. The Renaissance and Mannerism A remarkable collection of Italian works dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, with Sienna and Florence being particularly well-represented. The religious and allegorical scenes are carefully composed, with bright colours and clear, acidic tones. Portraits A wonderful collection of Italian, Flemish and Savoyard portraits, dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries. The social status of the subject can be determined by looking at whether they are alone or in a group. Genre paintings bring together various characters. The 17th century The heart of the Italian collection, the intense, formal quality of the Ecole de Naples is well-documented, which increases the dramatic atmosphere in the paintings. The collection also includes work from Rome, Florence and Venice. Piedmont in the 18th century Ecole de Turin, with its background in the unique history of the Savoie and the special relationship between Chambéry and Piedmont, produced some the most outstanding Baroque and neo-Classic works from Piedmont. L'Ecole savoyarde The Ecole de Peinture de Chambéry produced various artists, who were inspired by workshops in Geneva, Turin et Paris during the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. They painted landscapes, with the constantly-changing countryside being their main source of inspiration. Furthermore, the museum offers a year-round programme of temporary exhibitions and cultural events.

Place du Palais de Justice 73000 Chambéry
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Historic centre of Chambéry
353 m

Historic centre of Chambéry

The old own of Chambéry is characterised by a maze of streets and private mansions. The Piedmont-style architecture is often enhanced by decorative elements (trompe-l'oeil, ironwork, sculpture, etc.). Guided tours all the year round. Near the castle, the historical center of Chambéry offers an urban configuration dense and original, strongly marked by the presence of water. This set is quite homogene and is protected by a saving area program. The rue de Boigne : This straight street, lined with torinese gantry, was created thank to the liberality of the general de Boigne. Real hole in the urban tissue inherited from the middle age, this is the artery that is linking the castle to the fountain of the elephants. The place Saint Léger : Primitive center of the town, this place has become an area of life thank to its development at the end of the 1970's. Behind its colored fronts, a whole maze of streets and court of hotel particulier, giving to Chambéry its particular appearance. The rue Basse du Château : This strret inherited from the middle age conserves one of the last aerial footbridge of the town. The rue Croix d'or : During centuries, travellers coming from Italy were entering the town by this street. Artisanal district and aristocratic until the XIXth century, numerous testimony are still visibles, for example : the metal gates of the Hôtel of Castagnéry (n°18) and the front of the hôtel des Marches et de Bellegarde (n°19).

Ville ancienne 73000 Chambéry
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Caution!
We have no information on the difficulty of this circuit. You may encounter some surprises along the way. Before you go, please feel free to inquire more and take all necessary precautions. Have a good trip! 🌳🥾