The best walks and hikes around Marcollin

The Farm of 1000 Colors, overnight stay with half board 48 €

April 1879. Ferdinand Cheval, then a 43-year-old rural postman, stumbled upon a stone so bizarre during his rounds that it sparked a dream. A true autodidact, he dedicated 33 years of his life to building a dream palace in his vegetable garden, inspired by nature, postcards, and the first illustrated magazines he distributed. For his rounds in the countryside, he traveled about 30 kilometers each day, collecting stones with the help of his trusty wheelbarrow. Alone, misunderstood, he inscribed "the work of a man" on his monument. His dream palace was completed in 1912.

In French-speaking countries, a washhouse refers to a public, usually covered, washing place. In German-speaking countries, the term "Waschhaus" is more commonly used. The construction of washhouses was usually financed from the respective municipal coffers, as the washerwomen's often overly open and promiscuous behavior was to be discouraged or at least hidden behind walls and low-hanging roofs. (According to the opinion of ecclesiastical and governmental authorities, from whom else?) The history of covered washhouses, according to current knowledge, dates back to the 18th century. In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, women washed their laundry on stones by streams or rivers. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution and the associated pollution, covered structures began to appear in large numbers towards the end of the 18th century. This was also intended to reduce the risk of epidemics.

In this area the villages are rather deserted, here you can still find an Aubergers and a bakery, the village has beautifully decorated its places of interest.

I have seen it several times and it is truly a unique monument 🙂

Unique in the world, the Palais Idéal has inspired artists for over a century. Independent of any artistic movement, built without any architectural rules, the Palais Idéal was admired by the Surrealists. In 1969, it was classified as a Historic Monument by André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, as a work of naive art.

magnificent poetic garden where it is good to take your time, to wander and read the little quotes on the stones

An incredible tourist magnet in Hauterives. Large parking spaces on site and €9 entry. The small castle is something special that you don't see every day. A postman built it from stones and shells that he discovered on his errands around 1870 and worked on it for over 30 years. There is even a small museum and a brochure for mobile phones in German. 👍🏰🤳