Situated in the heart of the Pilat Regional Nature Park, the village of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, listed as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, is unusual in that it is the only village in France to occupy a former Carthusian monastery. The buildings of this monastery built in the 13th century are now home to a town hall, a school and houses.
The magnificent village of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, located in the heart of the Pilat Regional Natural Park, is a unique example in France of a Chartreuse transformed into a village during the Revolution. Behind imposing fortified walls are charming dwellings, spread over two courtyards. These two parts are joined by a very long corridor serving as an alley. Inside this former monastery, surprising spaces are to be discovered thanks to the guided tour. A stone tunnel allows you to leave the walls of the village and come out on the stream which runs alongside the whole. Even today, the village and its walls are marked by the exceptional history of the place.
The information point offers a whole range of local products, crafts, as well as the famous liqueur of the Carthusian fathers. Nearby, a farm will allow you to find excellent cheeses and charcuterie products.
The green setting of the natural park is ideal for walks and hikes.
Guided tour of the Chartreuse. The wall paintings of the fourteenth century, carved stalls of the fifteenth, a hermitage of monk reconstituted, a monumental fireplace in the old conventual kitchen. Many activities for young people, concerts and exhibitions.
