Discover Chatte: Silk history and outings

Anyone planning a hotel stay in Chatte can explore the destination through a range of themes: industrial history, a farm with an educational discovery trail, a landscaped garden, summer activities, and walking and cycling routes. To decide what you would like to focus on during your stay, it is worth considering how these themes differ. The history of silk points to the region’s former industry; other activities focus on animals, miniature worlds in motion, or time outdoors.

The history of silk around La Galicière

La Galicière is near the village of Chatte and was a silk-twisting mill. It is representative of the many businesses set up to prepare silk yarn that sprang up on the Plateau de Chambaran from the early 18th century onwards. This context connects the site with a longer regional industrial history, rather than presenting it simply as a single historic building.

The machinery has been preserved, although the mill finally ceased operating in the 1930s. Some of the machines used to twist silk yarn are more than 200 years old. This combination of former use, preserved equipment and historical development is particularly distinctive: the story stretches back to the beginnings of the businesses on the plateau and ends with the mill’s closure in the 1930s. La Galicière is therefore a useful reference point if you are interested in exploring Chatte primarily through the lens of silk processing and the region’s past.

Animals, gardens and summer activities

The Ferme Ferlin offers a different kind of experience. This educational farm in Chatte is home to Ouessant sheep, small goats, ferrets, miniature pigs, guinea pigs, rabbits and poultry. A discovery trail around the farm combines puzzles with information boards about the animals. The experience is shaped not only by the variety of animals, but also by its playful and educational format.

Private visitors can visit Ferme Ferlin for a self-guided tour on certain afternoons; the visiting schedule is the authoritative source. Visiting days vary, and availability may change. Plan your visit according to the current schedule rather than assuming it is open every afternoon.

Jardin Ferroviaire & Musical offers a very different setting: this landscaped garden in Chatte brings together miniature worlds and film scenes, brought to life by moving trains. If you are interested in designed garden spaces or small scenes in motion, it offers a distinctive theme alongside the farm and industrial history.

L'Olympide lists its activities as summer offerings. They include swimming and aquafitness, as well as a fitness room and fitness classes. Relaxation and rest are also part of the summer programme. This seasonal timing matters when planning; the activities listed should not be taken as a year-round programme.

A walk or a cycling route?

Le Tour des Chapelles offers a rural walk through hills and valleys. The circular route passes the Chapelle Sainte Philomène, where there is an orientation board. This makes it possible to describe the route as a walk with a specific point along the way: the landscape and the chapel are among its stated features.

La Belle Via is a cycling route with a different description: it runs from Annecy to Valence along the Isère. The stated differences are useful when choosing between the two ways of getting around: Le Tour des Chapelles is a rural walk through hills and valleys, while La Belle Via is a cycling route with named endpoints. This lets you choose between a walk and a longer cycling route without comparing the two in terms of walking or cycling times that have not been specified.

Chatte brings together a range of interests, without requiring them to define the same kind of stay. The preserved machinery and the history of La Galicière offer a cultural and historical perspective; Ferme Ferlin and Jardin Ferroviaire & Musical provide other themes for planning outings. There is also the rural circular walking route and L'Olympide’s seasonal activities. If you are looking for a hotel, these specific differences can help you choose Chatte based on what you would most like to experience during your stay.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Choranche, Auberives-Sur-Varèze, Colombe, Pontcharra, Vaulnaveys-le-Haut, Mizoën, Brangues, Vernioz.

For the overarching travel guide: Isere.