img_logo_impression Lacroix-Laval Park

Lacroix-Laval Park

The Lacroix-Laval Domain, opened to the public by the Rhône General Council in 1985, is no doubt the largest landscaped park in the Rhône Département. Spreading across the towns of Charbonnières les Bains, Marcy l'Etoile and La Tour de Salvagny, its 115 hectares (290 acres) of greenery are crisscrossed by kilometers of paths winding along gentle slopes through fields and woods. An educational circuit leads visitors to discover the wealth of plant life that flourishes in the park. The more athletic visitors will enjoy the excellent training ground provided by the two-kilometer health run. The château houses a collection of more than 1000 antique dolls among the finest in the world.

Contact

Parc de Lacroix-Laval
route de Saint-Bel
69280 Marcy l'Etoile
Tel : 04 78 87 87 00
 

The château was built on the ruins of a 12th century fortified manor. It was owned by a succession of great Lyon families before being bought in the 18th century by Jean Boussin II, known as De la Croix, Treasurer of France, who became Master of Laval. The Abbot Antoine de Lacroix, Vicar General of the Lyon Archdiocese, commissioned the famous architect Soufflot to design a mansion (today the Museum of Decorative Arts) and then the château of Lacroix-Laval. Finished in 1776, the building was destroyed several years later under the Revolution.

When the Rhône Département General Council acquired the Lacroix-Laval Domain, its intention was to make this green jewel a thematic cultural center for the general public. The theme was given by Denise Sambat, a Lyon resident who had patiently built up one of the most remarkable collections of antique dolls. The idea of a museum was born and the château was transformed into a magnificent doll house under the guidance of the Lyon architects Pierre Vurpas and Claude Vigan. Restoration work began in 1989 and was completed in the summer of 1990.

The Lacroix-Laval domain was inaugurated on 19 September 1990 by Michel Mercier, the President of the Rhône General Council.

Far from the noise of Lyon, yet so close to the city center, the park is a peaceful haven where woods and fields offer you incomparable tranquility and fresh air.
Follow the gentle paths through the shade of the trees, along the banks of the ponds or the river. From the French-style garden lined with century-old trees you come upon a picture post-card view of the Lacroix-Laval château. Beyond the vast lawns particularly suited to children's games, begins an educational circuit which takes you down the path to discovery of the wealth of plant life flourishing in the park. A little further on, the more athletic visitors will appreciate the 2 km health run along shaded paths. As lunch time approaches, the fields make the perfect spread for groups and families to enjoy a picnic. If the vast stretches of the Domain seem too far a walk for you, there are ponies for the children, horse-drawn carriages and even a little train known as the "Le Furet".