Chambéry

Chambéry (alt. 270 m/885ft; pop. 60,900), capital of the independent state of Savoy from the 13th to the 16th C., lies on the fast-flowing river Leysse in a fertile basin surrounded by hills and mountains. It is dominated by the old castle of the Dukes of Savoy (14th-15th C.). At the end of the castle's north wing is the Gothic Ste-Chapelle (1408), with fine stained glass and paintings in the apse by Vicario (1831). Other features of interest are the Treasury Tower (Tour Trésorerie), the state apartments and the Portail St-Dominique, a doorway in Flamboyant style which belonged to an earlier Dominican house. The best known monument in the town is the Elephant Fountain commemorating General Comte de Boigne (1751-1830). In close proximity to one another are the cathedral, with an unfinished west front (15th C.), an old monastic chapel with a beautiful Flamboyant doorway and the former Bishop's Palace, now housing the Musée Savoisien (prehistoric material, folk art and traditions, mementos of the House of Savoy). The Musée des Beaux- Arts, in a former granary, has works by Uccello, Titian, Guérin and Watteau. The town's finest old mansions are in Rue Croix-d'Or.

2km/1-1/2mi south is the little country house of Les Charmettes, where Jean-Jacques Rousseau stayed with Mme de Warens from 1736 to 1742. His impressions of the place are recorded in his "Confessions".