Historical Center of Moûtiers

Discover the historic center of Moûtiers: its pedestrian street and its shops, the medieval streets, the squares, the old bridge, the old archbishop's palace, the cathedral ... Visits for groups on request or free visits all year round.

During the visit you will discover one of the emblematic sites of the city. The old bridge or Saint-Pierre bridge built in 1785 and classified as a Historic Monument since 1980. It is the oldest bridge in the city. It already existed in Roman times. Very often rebuilt due to the heavy floods of Isère in the 18th century in particular. Below, you will see a passage called barrioz that the washerwomen used to do their laundry. These barrioz were closed in the evening by barriers (hence their name) in order to avoid unwanted intrusions into the city from the banks. This circuit will reveal many other curiosities linked to the history of the city. For the little story : Moûtiers, known as Darantasia in the Roman era, was the historical capital of the Tarentaise (IIès). At the crossroads of the Valleys and located on the old Roman road linking Milan to Vienna (38), the town was often frequented by pilgrims on their way to visit the tombs of the apostles in Rome, as well as by merchants and soldiers. Home to what is now a thousand-year-old cathedral, Moûtiers had a bishop right from the 5th century, when the bishops became archbishops before being awarded the honorific title of ‘Comte de Tarentaise’in the Middle Ages. A major religious centre, the town’s name doubtless comes from“Monsaterium”: the word for the collected spaces of the cathedral, archbishop’s palace and cloisters. Guided tours are organized by the Savoie-Mont-Blanc Heritage Guides for groups. Guided tours are organized in summer.