Eyguians: Poste-Musée and routes to the old village

Eyguians brings together two distinct highlights for your stay: the postal history of the Poste-Musée and traces of the abandoned old village at the Site du Vieil Eyguians. The town is also located at the confluence of the Buëch, Blaisance and Céans rivers. These themes give your hotel trip a clear focus: you can plan around an exhibition, historic sites or the routes described here. If you choose Eyguians as your base, it is worth deciding first whether cultural history or the routes will take up more of your time.

Postal history at the Poste-Musée

Opened in 2009, the Poste-Musée combines postal services with a museum area devoted to the history of the postal service. Its permanent exhibition includes, among other things, postilions’ clothing and boots, the uniform of a mounted courier, telephones, mailboxes and scale models of postal vehicles. Different aspects of postal history come together here: postilions’ equipment, means of communication and vehicles. If you enjoy learning about a subject through tangible objects, this collection offers several points of interest.

The Poste-Musée also holds a week-long themed exhibition every year. It includes conferences and other events; dates and the programme may vary. If this is a focus of your stay, it is therefore advisable to check the specific exhibition dates and programme in advance. This helps distinguish the recurring annual exhibition from the permanent exhibition, without assuming the same theme or events for every visit.

Traces of the old village at the Site du Vieil Eyguians

At the Site du Vieil Eyguians, a themed trail leads through the ruins of the old village. Eyguians was abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century. Historic buildings at Vieil Eyguians include the Église Sainte-Madeleine: it dates from the 14th century and was restored by the municipality in 1983. Its construction and restoration mark two different periods in its history. The sundial is another trace of local history; it is located on a former inn.

There is also a playful fitness trail on the plateau at the Site du Vieil Eyguians. This means several different themes are found in the same place: the trail through the ruins, the church’s history, the sundial at the former inn and the fitness trail on the plateau. When planning your visit, you can consider which of these interests you most, rather than treating the historic sites and the activity options as the same experience.

Walking trail or mountain-bike route?

The Le Vieil Eyguians No. 19 walking trail starts and ends to the left, behind the railway underpass in Eyguians. You should check the access details again before your trip. Another option is the Le Vieil Eyguians VTT No. 13 mountain-bike route: it passes through the Beaumont state forest to the old village and offers a viewpoint over Mont Chabre, the Eyglière ridge and Rocher de Beaumont.

The two routes can be distinguished by the features described. For walking trail No. 19, the start and end points are given; the VTT route focuses on the mountain-bike trail through the state forest, the old village and the viewpoint. When planning your time in Eyguians, this distinction gives you a clear basis for choosing which kind of route to focus on, without needing to assume a walking time or difficulty level.

Discover more destinations: La Roche-Des-Arnauds, Dévoluy, Champcella, Freissinières, Saint-Jacques-En-Valgodemard, La Bâtie-Vieille, Sainte-Colombe, Champoléon

For the overview of the wider region: Hautes-Alpes.