Romans-Sur-Isère offers more than one way to explore its history and culture: buildings, collections, insights into shoemaking and riverside paths each offer a different perspective. As you plan, you can choose whether you are most interested in architecture, the history of shoes, music or a walk. This makes it easy to tailor your itinerary to the themes you want to shape your stay.
Heritage: from buildings to collections
The Tour Jacquemart is a 37-metre-high tower made of molasse stone, dating from the 12th century. It stands on a former gate in Romans-Sur-Isère’s first city wall. The Collégiale Saint-Barnard also has deep roots: it grew out of a monastery founded in 838 by Barnard, the Archbishop of Vienne. The Collégiale displays nine embroidered tapestries depicting the Passion of Christ—seasonally and as part of a guided tour.
The Musée de la Chaussure is housed in the former Visitation monastery. Its thematic and encyclopaedic collection includes 20,000 examples tracing the history of footwear from antiquity to the present day. The museum displays 16,500 collection items in rotation, covering 4,000 years of footwear history. A visit focuses on a different chapter of the city’s history than its buildings do: here, the focus is on the development of footwear.
The Maison du Mouton, one of the city’s oldest houses, now serves as a heritage centre. Admission is free, and it is open to everyone. You can complement the various historic sights with a route through the centre, which takes you past medieval and Renaissance heritage and can be explored independently, without a guide, at any time. This sets it apart from the tapestries in the Collégiale, which are available to view seasonally and only as part of a guided tour.
The history of shoes, walking routes and music
You can also encounter the theme of shoes in different ways beyond the museum. The Cité de la Chaussure offers tours of its production workshops, where you can see the individual steps involved in making shoes entirely in Romans. The Cité also has a boutique featuring more than 15 shoe brands from the Romans area. The “Les 12 chaussures géantes à Romans” route takes you along a shopping trail past twelve monumental shoes. They are about two metres tall and inspired by models from the museum.
For a self-guided visit with an approximate time estimate, the Cité de la Raviole offers a useful guide: the free tour takes about 45 to 60 minutes. This duration is explicitly approximate; it can help you fit this activity into your stay without confusing it with a guided tour. The route through the historic centre, meanwhile, can be explored independently and without a guide at any time, while the tapestries in the Collégiale can only be viewed seasonally and as part of a guided tour.
Music is another part of the cultural offering. The Cité de la Musique is open to the public and includes a 270-seat auditorium. As access arrangements may change, it is a good idea to check the latest visitor information before your visit. Workshops at La Cordo cover subjects such as artistic direction, sound engineering, mixing, mastering, communications, writing and singing, and are led by music professionals. Workshop topics may change.
Walks with views of the landscape and water
If you would like to spend some time outdoors between visits, the Parc François Mitterrand is home to the Belvedere Saint-Romain. From there, you can enjoy views of the Isère and the Vercors. The view offers a different focus from the historical collections and buildings, turning your attention to the river and mountains.
The Canal de la Martinette runs through the city and offers a pleasant walk, with glimpses of the flora and fauna of aquatic habitats. In addition to the historic routes, you can also explore paths through the city that offer views of water and nature. Whether you want to focus on culture or walking, these different themes offer ways to explore Romans-Sur-Isère during your stay.
Discover more destinations: La Chaudière, Mirmande, Eymeux, Vesc, Chabeuil, Beausemblant, Pierrelongue, Saint-Auban-Sur-L'ouvèze
For the regional travel overview: Drôme.
