There are sites and apps for everything nowadays. Are you in a foreign country and need directions? Do you want to learn the working hours of a certain shop? Do you want to know which services do a specific organization offers? Just look it up online. There are countless examples of how it’s becoming easier to organize absolutely everything. But how about visiting some unusual sites? One has to be careful when clicking on these sites as they’re not all good and helpful. We’ve taken it upon us to handpick a couple of them for you to check out.
Want to learn more? Keep reading the article!
If you are on holiday in France, perhaps you would like to vary the range of your discoveries? Focusing on crafts, industry and know-how, visits to companies, workshops and other factories may hold some surprises…
In Prades, between Andorra and Perpignan, at the foot of the Canigou, the Manufacture du Grenat perpetuates the tradition of an art craft thanks to the Privat family. The visit takes visitors to the centre of the manufacture of Catalan jewels and the various jewellery trades, from the work of the lapidary to that of the setters. A magical world at the heart of a centre of excellence is classified as French Living Heritage.
The Manufacture du Grenat: www.manufacturedugrenat.com
The newspaper Le Démocrate de l’Aisne is known for being the last in Western Europe to be printed in lead using techniques from another century. Founded in 1906, this newspaper is still published with a circulation of 1000 copies per week. An amazing visit to Vervins in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, Picardy.
If you love dolls or want to please your grandchildren, a visit to Jouets Petitcollin in Etain, Meuse, should be a good time. The workshop opened its doors in 1860 and continues to manufacture dolls and babies. You will discover the metamorphosis of the raw material through all the stages of transformation to the finished product.
Jouets Petitcollin: www.petitcollin.com
In Planning, in the heart of the Vosges mountains, the Claudepierre family welcomes the public to visit their confectionery where you will witness the various stages of the traditional production of Vosges sweets. In 2014, nearly 200,000 visitors attended and walked through the Candy Museum…
Confiserie des Hautes-Vosges : www.cdhv.fr
In Grasse, the Fragonard Historical Factory takes you into the world of perfumery. The factory will allow you to discover the workshops, the laboratories and the creation of perfumes. On the first floor of the building, you can continue your visit with the perfume museum, which presents a private collection of bottles, boxes, stills and other wonders relating the history of perfumery from Antiquity to the present day.
Fragonard Perfumery: www.fragonard.com
If you are passing through Epinal, don’t miss a visit to the famous imagery, the last one in Europe still inactivity, and taken over in 2014 by two passionate entrepreneurs. The guided tour allows you to discover the immense historical workshop and its fleet of old machines, still in operation. You will discover the secrets of the famous Epinal images and lithography.
Imagerie d’Epinal: www.imagerie-epinal.com
At the gates of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, in Villedieu-les Poêles, a visit to the Cornille Havard workshop will leave an unforgettable memory. In this bell foundry, you will witness a demonstration of a rare know-how, of traditional moulding techniques based on clay and horse manure and of the path to follow to obtain unique sounds and decorations. This historic workshop dating from the 19th century will introduce you to this exceptional craft…
Cornille Havard bell foundry: www.cornille-havard.com
Fancy taking a trip back in time? The Ecomusée d’Alsace, in Ungersheim, allows you to do so thanks to its reconstituted village. In this open-air museum, you will be treated to a complete change of scenery. Craftsmen and volunteers in period costumes, farm animals, activities designed to present the heritage of the past, old-fashioned buildings, the omnipresent storks: everything here is based on respect for popular traditions. And the day spent exploring the place is a delight…
Ecomusée d’Alsace: www.ecomusee-alsace.fr
