All roads lead to Rome, but many of them pass through Ars.
Whether you’ve come to Ars by the bend in the road, along a vacation route, are planning to come to Ars or have discovered it “by chance”, we welcome you!
Ars is a small, authentic and peaceful village of 1,500 inhabitants, it has been awarded the Pays d’art et d’histoire label, and is located in the heart of La Dombes, at the crossroads of Beaujolais, Bresse and Metropolitan France.
It’s a village with a remarkable heritage, where you can visit the Basilique Saint-Sixte, a neo-Byzantine jewel designed by Pierre Bosan, architect of Lyon’s Basilique de Fourvière; the Chapelle du Coeur, which houses a relic; and the semi-subterranean church of Notre-Dame de la Miséricorde, designed by Pierre Pinsard and classified as a remarkable 20th-century building.
The Maison du Saint Jean-Marie Vianney is the presbytery in which the Curé d’Ars lived, preserved in its original state. You’ll discover the objects that once belonged to him and the pieces of furniture he used.
The Wax Museum, the only museum of its kind in our region, invites you to discover the life of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney through 17 works of art. surprisingly realistic scenes. 35 wax figures have been specially created by Les Ateliers Grévin, and you’ll be seduced by their beauty and realism, their haute couture costumes and their striking sets…
Take advantage of your visit to Ars to discover Pérougesone of France’s most beautiful villages, or Trévouxthe capital of the former Principality of Dombes, a Plus Beaux Détours de France and the heart of the Pays d’Art et d’Histoire, or Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne…
A little further afield, Lyon with Fourvière Basilica, Roman remains, Old Lyon, Parc de la tête d’Or…. the Monastère Royal de BrouParay-le-Monial…
Ars also offers you the chance to recharge your batteries through nature and sport. In the vicinity of our village, you can get away from it all on our 20 hiking trails, 25 hectares of forest, 70 km of “voie bleue” and dedicated bike paths. It’s an opportunity to discover the biodiversity typical of the Dombes region and its wetlands.
And to take things a step further, just 20 minutes from Ars, you can visit the Parc des oiseaux with its nature reserve, a major ornithological migratory stopover.
One scene has remained so celebrated in Ars that it has even been immortalized by a statue that we call here Monument de la Rencontre ( add a small photo ?) . On the day of his arrival in Ars, Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, unable to find his way, asked a young shepherd, Antoine Givre, for directions. Thanking him for his help, the Holy Curé said, “You showed me the way to Ars, I’ll show you the way to heaven! ”
Several routes pass through Ars. On foot or by bike, with family or friends, our region is criss-crossed from north to south by La Voie Bleue, Moselle-Saône by bike, and numerous hiking trails, with different levels of difficulty and a variety of landscapes and distances.
Among the walks in the footsteps of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, there is a a 16 km signposted path followed by the Saint Curé d’Ars from Ars to Montmerle-sur-Saône.
You can find this route and many others on Visorando :
Ars is also a stage on the pilgrimage from Vézelay to Assisi: the Chemin d’Assise.
