Saint-Etienne Attractions

In Saint Etienne, in the northern district of La Terrasse is the new Museum of Modern Art, a long tile-faced building designed by Didier Guichard (1987), with a large collection which ranks it among the leading French museums. It displays works by the "classic" modern painters such as Picasso, Léger, Miró, Picabia and Schwitters, but concentrates particularly on the art of the post- war period including the German Neo- Expressionists.

The Museum of Art and Industry, to the south of the Saint Etienne city center, has four sections devoted to mining, arms technology, textile manufacture and two-wheeled vehicles - all subjects of economic importance to St-Etienne.

In the center of St-Etienne is the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, in which stands the Town Hall (1882).

Southwest of the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, in Place Boivin, is the 15th C church of St- Etienne, which was damaged during the wars of religion. Around the square are a number of 16th C houses, and in the adjoining Place du Peuple is a fine half-timbered house, also 16th C. A little way south is the Comédie de St-Etienne, a theater founded by Jean Dasté in 1947, which has had, and continues to have, a great influence on the theater in France.

This cave was inhabited by Cro-Magnon man, over 15,000 years ago. It was created by the nearby water, which shattered rocks and colorful walls. The cave is famous in the region as a prehistoric site, and includes exhibitions of prehistoric tools, including chipped flint and bone tools, among many other prehistoric items. They are on display in a reconstructed Magdalenian tent shelter.

25km/15mi northeast of St-Etienne is the little town of Chazelles-sur-Lyon. The Musée du Chapeau (Hat Museum) illustrates the history and explains the techniques of hat-making.

West of St Etienne is one of the few dams on the Loire, forming the long narrow Lac de Grangent, which is almost completely surrounded by forest. On what was formerly a hill but is now an island in the lake is the ruined castle of Grangent.

23km/14mi north of St-Etienne, on the right bank of the Loire, is the little spa of Montrond les Bains, with a ruined castle (14th-16th C) from which there are fine views of the hills of Forez and the Parc du Pilat.

This nature park - Parc Régional du Pilat - established in 1974, lies 3km/2mi southeast of St-Etienne and extends for a further 27km/17mi. It is centered on the Mont Pilat massif, which separates the Loire from the Rhône and reaches heights of 1370m/4,495ft in the Crêt de l'oeillon, to the northeast, and 1,432 m/4,698ft in the Crêt de la Perdrix. On the northern slopes of the range are a number of artificial lakes formed by dams.

16km/10mi north of St Etienne, on the little river Coise, is St-Galmier, with mineral springs which yield a well known table water. The church (15th-17th C.), in Flamboyant style, has a beautiful figure of the Virgin (the Vierge du Pilier) and a Flemish triptych.