In Vescours, 6 km from the campsite, Montalibord is a listed 15th-century Bresse farmhouse. Still a working farm and a mass of flowers in the warmer months, it welcomes visitors to its small farm museum.
A 15th-century Bresse farmhouse
Montalibord farm stands in Vescours, in the Bresse area of the Ain, between Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes and Pont-de-Vaux, surrounded by several ponds. Tree-ring dating of its roof timbers places its construction between 1448 and 1450, with a second phase of work in 1517-1518 and some alterations around 1780. It is a single-storey building whose overhanging roof, partly carried on posts, shelters an outside staircase. The farm and its Saracen chimney have been a listed historic monument since 1974.
A one-of-a-kind Saracen chimney
On the roof, the Saracen chimney stands out with its square, pyramid-shaped hood, slightly irregular, its sides decorated with triangular patterns. A wrought-iron cross crowns the top. As in every Bresse farmhouse that has one, it marks the hearth of the main room inside, the heart of family life.
The farm museum, a record of three generations
Lived in until the mid-1970s, the farm has kept its original hearth and period furniture, some of it dating from the 19th century or earlier: the great ancestors’ bench with its chest and table, the salt chair, the canopy bed, the bread ladder and the stone sink. In the former bedrooms, tools and photographs trace the running of the farm from 1932 to the present day and the changes in farming methods across three generations. Montalibord is no museum piece, though: it is still a working farm, raising Charolais cattle, fishing its ponds and offering a gîte and guest rooms.
Planning your visit
Montalibord is about 6 km from Camping Les Ripettes and well signposted from the D2, the road between Pont-de-Vaux and Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes. You can look round the farm museum on your own, and guided tours, with or without a tasting, are available on booking. The owners ask visitors to phone before coming; their details are on the tourist office listing. The farm belongs to the Bresse farms network, as does the Ferme de la Forêt a few kilometres away in Courtes. Come in the warmer months, when the farm is covered in flowers.