With their timber frames, galleries and striking Saracen chimneys, Bresse farmhouses are part of the landscape around the campsite. Several are open to visitors, the nearest just 6 km away.
Built from timber and earth
In the Bresse, the traditional farmhouse stretches out in a long, south-facing frontage. Its walls combine timber framing with wattle and daub, and the galleries are often decorated with St Andrew’s crosses. Builders chose sites well away from damp ground. The frame, made of timber pieces fitted together without nails, even allowed all or part of a building to be taken down and moved when an inheritance was divided between several heirs.
The Saracen chimney, emblem of the Bresse
From outside it looks like a small bell tower perched on the roof, often topped with a cross. Inside, it rises above a hearth set towards the middle of the main room, where everyone sat around the fire in a place set by their rank in the family. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with the Saracens: local scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries are thought to have coined it because of the chimneys’ exotic look. The historian Gabriel Jeanton counted more than 400 in 1923. Around thirty remain today, no two alike, and several are protected as historic monuments.
Farms to visit near the campsite
Since 2022, five historic farms in the northern Bresse, in the Ain, have formed a visitor network. The closest is Montalibord farm in Vescours, about 6 km from the campsite: a 15th-century farm that is still worked, with its own small farm museum. Around twelve kilometres away, the Ferme de la Forêt in Courtes has been a listed historic monument, Saracen chimney included, since 1930. Its house, attic and cowsheds tell the story of rural life in times gone by, with family activities in season. The network also includes the Ferme de Grandval in Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes, open on request or during the European Heritage Days, the Ferme du Sougey in Montrevel-en-Bresse and the Maison de Pays en Bresse open-air museum in Saint-Étienne-du-Bois. Further south, in Saint-Cyr-sur-Menthon, the Domaine des Planons pairs a Bresse farmhouse and its Saracen chimney with a museum devoted to the art of good food.
Good to know
Opening periods vary from one farm to another, so check before you go, and always phone Montalibord before turning up. As you drive or cycle through the countryside between Pont-de-Vaux and Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes, keep looking up: more Saracen chimneys still crown private farms and can be admired from the road.