Discover Le Bois-D'oingt

Le Bois-D'oingt offers a cultural and historical focus, with the town’s medieval history, preserved architectural features and façade art. It also has a museum accessible by prior reservation, a former church now used as a hall, markets and a possible hike. This lets you tailor your stay to different interests: architecture and art, a visit to a park or a market visit.

Historic Centre and Architecture

The historic centre was a fortified town in 1226. Houses with Renaissance windows, doors with ogee arches and spiral staircases have been preserved in the old centre. Most of the houses in the centre are made of golden-coloured stone. This brings together a distinctive building material and specific features of windows, doors and staircases. An ogee arch is a curved door surround; a spiral staircase winds around a central axis. These terms help you identify the different architectural details more precisely, rather than describing the centre simply as historic.

The year 1226 belongs to the history of the fortified centre; the preserved Renaissance windows and other architectural features draw attention to its architecture. These are different points of reference: one concerns the town’s status at the time, while the others relate to visible features on houses. If you are interested in architectural history, you can include both perspectives in your exploration of Le Bois-D'oingt.

Façade Art and Museum

In the 1980s, painter John Mc Grew painted two trompe-l’œil façades in Le Bois-D'oingt. The term describes a painting that creates the illusion of depth. On the façades, this puts optical illusion at the centre as an artistic technique. This is a different way of looking at the town’s design than focusing on stone, windows, door surrounds and staircases: here the focus is on the effect of painted surfaces, while the other perspective concerns materials and preserved architectural features. Art and architecture thus offer different themes for your visit.

The John Mc Grew Museum in Le Bois-D'oingt is accessible by prior reservation. If you would like to visit the museum, book in advance. This requirement is part of planning your museum visit and distinguishes it from a spontaneous stop without a prior reservation.

Cultural Sites and Park

The former church in Le Bois-D'oingt is now used as an exhibition and event hall. Check its current use before your trip if you plan to include it in your itinerary. The Chapelle Saint Roch in the cemetery dates from the 17th century. Together, they offer different historical perspectives: the chapel’s origins and the former church’s current use as a hall.

You can also visit the public park at Maison Pichat. It adds another place to visit in Le Bois-D'oingt alongside the cultural sites. You can decide whether to focus on architecture, art or the park according to your interests, without having to follow a set order of visits.

Market Days and Hike Starting Point

The two markets offer a useful reference when choosing a day to visit: a market is held in Le Bois-D'oingt on Tuesday mornings and an organic market on Friday afternoons. They take place at different times on different days of the week. If you would like to plan your stay around a market visit, you can choose the day accordingly. As recurring market days may change, check the dates locally.

The Rando' Val d'Oingt hike can start in Le Bois-D'oingt; the designated starting point is the car park at the salle hors sac. Check the car park conditions before setting off. A salle hors-sac picnic room opened in 2018 on Chemin de la voie du Tacot. Check its current accessibility before visiting.

If your hotel stay includes both the museum and the markets, the planning requirements differ: the museum requires a prior reservation, while the markets take place on specific days of the week. Plan your travel dates around the activities that matter to you.

Discover more destinations: Liergues, Odenas, Dommartin, Vaugneray, Chamelet, Pont-Trambouze, Soucieu-en-Jarrest, Juliénas

See the main travel overview: Rhône.