The Tour Lombarde is located in Conthey’s historic town centre. Its gallery hosts six exhibitions a year featuring acclaimed artists from the region and beyond. This makes it a tangible starting point for a stay centred on art and local history.
Art and History in the Town Centre
The historic trail “Le Bourg médiéval de Conthey, vers 1470” starts at the Tour Lombarde. A circular route through the medieval town centre includes the castle of the Counts of Savoy as a stop. The two experiences have different focuses: the gallery is devoted to its annual exhibition programme, while the circular route takes in historic sites around the town.
Conthey’s oldest chapel is another tangible point of reference for its architectural history. It was built around 1690 by the Waldin patrician family from Sion and furnished with an richly decorated altar. The chapel is one of the few small Baroque gems to have survived in French-speaking Valais. Its construction date, patrons and furnishings give it a distinctive place alongside the routes through the medieval town centre.
Routes with a Historical and Scenic Focus
The Bisse de la Tsandra is well signposted and can be walked in sections over several stages. Its 24 information panels trace its history from its beginnings around 1400 to its conversion to a pipeline. They also explain changes to irrigation and the work carried out on Conthey’s irrigation network between 1982 and 1991. The route combines walking with an insight into the development of irrigation.
The Parcours de l’eau du glacier au Rhône passes through Savièse, Conthey and Sion. The route is 30 kilometres long in total, divided into three sections, and accessible by public transport. If you plan to take this route, check the accessibility information in advance; details may change.
Wine Trails and Seasonal Tastings
The wine trail from Ardon to Conthey is open all year round. It runs for 11.2 kilometres through the vineyards of VĂ©troz and Conthey, with bilingual information panels covering the grape varieties grown there. The Conthey wine trail features 33 panels about vines and wine, as well as the fauna and flora along the vineyards. Its updated panels show all the grape varieties grown in the municipality. This lets you distinguish a route focused on vines and grape varieties from panels that also cover nature.
Tastings are seasonal: depending on the season, you can sample selected local wines and regional specialities at the Tour Lombarde’s Caveau. The wine trails and the Caveau offer different ways to explore wine—outdoors among the vineyards or at a seasonal tasting.
Another Activity for Your Stay
If you would rather focus on exercise than on historical or wine-related information, the Parcours sportif has 16 exercise stations along a route of just under 2.7 kilometres. Its precise length and number of stations make it a different kind of activity from Conthey’s themed trails.
Discover more destinations: Chamoson, Ardon Vs, Nendaz, VĂ©troz
Go to the broader travel overview: Conthey.
