Discover Mens: Culture, Trails and Local Produce

Mens brings together history, outdoor activities and local food, offering different ways to shape a stay. If you’re looking for a hotel in Mens, your travel interests can guide your plans: the historic centre, trails and courses, and local produce each offer a distinct focus.

Culture and history in Mens

The Musée du Trièves is located in Mens’s historic quarter. It features permanent and temporary exhibitions spanning the period from prehistory to the present day. Topics include the landscapes of the Trièves, early human settlements, rural heritage and village life. Artists who spent time in the area are also featured, including Jean Giono, Edith Berger and Emile Gilioli. The range of subjects offers several ways to explore the cultural history of the Trièves, from its landscapes and settlements to individual artists.

Les Amis du Musée offers a guided tour of Mens’s historic centre. You can plan it as a separate activity and distinguish it from a museum visit: the tour focuses on the historic centre, while the Musée du Trièves explores its subjects through exhibitions.

Nature and family activities

The Centre écologique Terre vivante combines a natural setting with ecological gardens in a 50-hectare wooded area. The centre includes the 2 km-long Sentier du 6ème sens, a family experience through cool woodland. La Visite dont vous êtes le héros also takes place there: a fun family trail where you solve a puzzle. The two activities take different forms: the Sentier is a path through the woodland, while the trail centres on solving a puzzle.

The Sentier de la Ronde du Chatel offers woodland cabins, land art and wildlife watching. The path is wide, level and safe, and accessible to families with pushchairs, older people and people with reduced mobility. This offers different practical points to consider than the 2 km-long Sentier du 6ème sens: here, the focus is on the path and accessibility, while the other trail is defined by its length and cool woodland.

Walking trails and navigation

The Tour de Villette is a family walk through wheat fields, marshes and pine forests. It is marked with yellow PR signs and starts at Place Paul Brachet in the centre of Mens. Bus route T95 serves the Place Robert Brachet terminus. If you’re including the T95 in your plans, check the timetable before travelling.

The Parcours d'orientation découverte de Mens comprises three different formats: an orienteering course for adults to explore the village of Mens, a fun family trail through the village, and a trail focused on the natural heritage of Etang du Marais. You can choose between exploring the village, a fun family activity and a focus on natural heritage. The formats cater to different interests, without combining all the trails into one programme.

Local produce and the Foire du 1er Mai

Le Raccourci is a shop selling local food from producers and craftspeople in the Trièves. Direct sales take place at Place de la Mairie in Mens. If you’d like to shop there, check the opening details before your visit.

The Foire du 1er Mai features local produce, farming equipment, livestock, plants and flowers, textiles, crafts from around the world, confectionery and children’s attractions. Check what programme is planned for your visit date before travelling. This lets you include a visit to the fair and a shopping trip to Le Raccourci as different options in your plans: the fair offers a broad range of attractions, while Le Raccourci focuses on direct sales of local food from the Trièves.

Discover more destinations: Sillans, Saint-Quentin-Sur-Isère, La Rivière, Reventin-Vaugris, Gières, Corenc, Veyssilieu, Salaise-Sur-Sanne

For the broader travel overview: Isere.