City of Pont-de-Vaux
The city of the Dukes of Savoy
A fortified town in Savoy facing the kingdom of France, erected into a duchy in 1623, Pont-de-Vaux retains the narrow location imposed by the surrounding wall built in the thirteenth century. This is evidenced by the traces of ramparts, mullioned windows, Renaissance pilasters and half-timbered houses scattered throughout this small shopping town in Bresse. The city has grown with the times and there are also a few eighteenth-century mansions proudly displaying their classical facades.
100 years ago, passengers on the tramway that linked Pont-de-Vaux to Mâcon travelled along the canal dug by Léonard Racle (Voltaire’s architect in Ferney) at the end of the eighteenth century. A commercial port had been envisaged but it was finally a marina of 225 rings that was established in its heart at the end of the twentieth century.
Today, it is a small dynamic town, renowned for its gastronomy with a starred chef and which still retains many shops. Don’t miss one of the largest markets in the region on Wednesday mornings !
The city is also home to a fine arts museum, the Antoine Chintreuil Museum, and an interactive environmental education space, the Maison de l’eau et a nature.
Ted Nomad’s street art trail
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Antoine Chintreuil Museum, the artist Ted Nomad was asked to create 9 portraits of characters from Pont-de-Vaux in stencil, his favorite technique, on the walls of the city. The result is a route that retraces an original portrait of a “small” town in full evolution with real “Pontévallois”, some emblematic characters and newcomers.
