Tallard: Discover the Château, Market and History

In Tallard, you can include a range of interests in your travel plans: the history of the Château, the historic town centre, the Église Saint-Grégoire, the market and a canoe trip on the Durance. Each offers a different kind of visit or activity. When planning your stay, you can decide whether you would like to focus mainly on local history, a market visit or time on the water.

The Château and historic town centre

The Château de Tallard has a documented history spanning 700 years and has been classified in its entirety since 1969. Visitors can choose between self-guided tours with audio guides and guided tours. The formats differ in how you experience the visit: with an audio guide on your own, or as part of a guided tour. You can also explore the historic town centre on a guided tour.

Porte Durance is part of the town centre and is one of the two gates of Tallard’s historic centre that have survived to this day. The gate is a tangible starting point if you are interested in the town’s historic layout. The Château, guided tours of the town centre and the surviving gate offer different ways to explore Tallard’s history; they should not be treated as a single type of visit.

The Église Saint-Grégoire and its history

The Église Saint-Grégoire was built between 1640 and 1644 and has been classified as a historic monument (“Monument historique”) since 30 May 1931. Six paintings in the nave decorate the church; they depict the life of Saint Gregory. The construction period, classification and paintings offer three specific ways to understand the church’s history: when it was built, its subsequent classification and the saint’s life depicted there.

When comparing the church with the Château, note the different classification details: the church is described as a historic monument, with the date 1931, whereas the Château has been classified in its entirety since 1969. These dates and descriptions add to the history of each building, but do not mean the same thing.

A market featuring local producers’ products

The market in Tallard is held every Tuesday and Friday morning at Place Commandant Dumont. Local producers sell fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese, fish and honey there. For a market visit, both the day of the week and the morning hours matter. If the market is part of your travel plans, check the schedule again before you arrive.

The selection ranges from fresh fruit and vegetables to eggs, cheese, fish and honey. You can therefore plan a market visit as a morning activity in its own right, rather than treating it as the same kind of visit as the Château or town centre. The details on days, times and location can help you include it in your plans.

A canoe trip and a drive

At Durance Canoë, canoe trips are unaccompanied. The trip begins with a shuttle from the nautical base in Tallard to your chosen starting point; from there, you paddle back to Tallard on the Durance. The activity is therefore described as an independent canoe trip with organised transport to the starting point. As operational details may change, check the information for your planned date in advance.

Another way to visit nearby places by car is the “Itinéraire des Villages Perchés – Parcours 3” route. It is 28 kilometres long and takes about 50 minutes by car. The route passes through Tallard, Châteauvieux, Neffes, Pelleautier, Sigoyer and Fouillouse. The approximate duration and distance provide a specific timeframe and area for planning your route, without promising an exact driving time.

Gardens and the Durance landscape

Tallard’s gardens also tell the story of how the landscape has changed. They were established after the French Revolution. A dam diverted the course of the Durance, making it possible to cultivate the silty soils. The gardens’ creation, use of the river and the nature of the soil are therefore directly connected. This history offers a different perspective on Tallard alongside its buildings and guided visits: the conditions that made it possible to create and use cultivated land.

You can choose from several distinct ways to focus your stay: tours of the Château and historic town centre, architectural and church history, a market visit on a Tuesday or Friday morning, a canoe trip or a drive. Which option suits your plans depends on whether you would prefer to get to know the town through its history, its market or an activity on the Durance.

Discover more destinations: Prunières, Le Monêtier-Les-Bains, Laragne-Montéglin, Sainte-Catherine, La Beaume, La Bâtie-Montsaléon, Saint-Pierre-D'argençon, Saint-Crépin

Go to the main travel overview: Hautes-Alpes.