Ambierle brings together a Gothic priory and a book village with routes through vineyards, forests and meadows. When planning your visit, you can choose between local culture and the surrounding countryside.

Priory, Museum and Book Village

The Priory of Saint-Martin was built between 1450 and 1480 and features Gothic architecture. Its distinctive features include a Burgundian-style roof made of polychrome glazed tiles. The date places the priory in its historical context; the Gothic style and roof tiles describe its architectural appearance.

The Alice Taverne Museum presents collections on the art and traditions of the Roannais and Forez regions in an 18th-century house and its outbuildings. It also features recreated scenes of rural everyday life: a village shop, a farmhouse, a classroom and a healer’s room. For several decades, the museum has organized guided tours of the village of Ambierle. The recreated rooms complement the collections with spatial depictions of everyday rural life, while the guided village tours, in turn, focus on Ambierle as a whole.

The Village du Livre offers a different cultural focus. The book village association manages its activities and brings together the local bookshops and bookbinding businesses. Specifically, these include three bookshops and a bookbinding workshop. The Village du Livre thus encompasses bookselling and bookbinding as distinct parts of its offering.

Routes, Views and Winemaking

Ambierle’s many walking trails run through vineyards, forests and meadows, with viewpoints and local sights along the way. The La Madone viewpoint lies above the village center and offers an exceptional view across the plain.

One walking option is the 11 km Les Servajeans route, which starts in the village of Ambierle and offers a chance to discover the surrounding vineyards and countryside, as well as a viewpoint. The Via Sancti Martini cultural route also passes through Ambierle. For cycling, the village lies on the Route des Vins: the 16 km Loop 2, La Sportive, passes through Ambierle and starts in Changy. The distances refer to different activities: a walking route and a cycling loop; the Via Sancti Martini is designated as a cultural route through the village.

In 2024, the municipality described five wineries in Ambierle that continue the village’s long winemaking tradition. They farm organically or are transitioning to organic farming. Together with the Route des Vins, this makes winemaking a distinct focus alongside cultural activities and walking.

Information and Tours

The Maison de Pays et du Tourisme provides tourist information and sells regional food, local crafts, postcards and books. For groups, it organizes heritage tours on request. This is a separate way to find your bearings in the village, while the Alice Taverne Museum has been organizing guided village tours for several decades.

The free interactive Baludik treasure hunt “La Disparition de la cuvée d’Ambierle” invites you to search in Ambierle for Pompon the missing donkey and the famous Cuvée. Check whether the activity is available on Baludik before planning your visit.

Discover More Destinations

St. Alban Les Eaux, Cellieu, Saint-Germain-Lespinasse, Saint-Jean-La-Vêtre, Neaux, Le Bessat, Juré, Saint-Paul-en-Jarez

For the broader travel overview: Loire.