Chambery

Chambery was the capital of the counts and dukes of Savoy from 1295 until the court moved to Turin in 1563, and the castle still stands above the old town with a Sainte-Chapelle that held the Shroud of Turin before it left for Italy. The Fontaine des Elephants was put up in 1838 to honour Benoit de Boigne, a local who made a fortune in India; four elephant foreparts project from the base with no rear ends behind them, which produced the nickname les quatre sans cul. Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived at Les Charmettes outside town with Madame de Warens, and the house is preserved.

History

Chambéry was the capital of Savoy from 1295 to 1563, when Savoy reached from Bourg-en-Bresse across the Alps to Turin and from Geneva to Nice, and it declined after Duke Emmanuel Philibert moved his capital to Turin in 1563. France annexed the Savoyard lands west of the Alps in 1792, but they were returned to the House of Savoy in 1815; the Société Académique de Savoie was founded in 1820 to promote the town's revival and now meets in the ducal château, and in 1860 Chambéry was ceded to France with the rest of Savoy and the County of Nice. Its Hôtel de Ville opened in 1867 (Wikipedia, Chambéry).

The main sights

• The elephant fountain - four half-elephants and the nickname that followed.
• The Savoy castle - the ducal castle with its Sainte-Chapelle.
• The old town allees - covered passages between the medieval streets.
• Les Charmettes - Rousseau's country house on the hillside.

When to go

April to October; the castle is visited on guided tours at set times. The town is a practical base for the Savoy lakes and mountains. Winter is grey but the mountains are close.

Good to know

The castle interior is largely administrative offices and access is by tour only. The Shroud is in Turin and has been since 1578. The town is pleasant rather than spectacular.

Nearby

Lake Bourget lies north; Grenoble is south.

Key facts