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Anse

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Visit Anse (Rhone-Alpes, France)

Anse is a quiet town in the Rhone department, 29km north of Lyon. It was an important town in Gallo Roman times and there are a number of remaining buildings which testify to its important past.

The surrounding region is known as the 'Pierres Dorées' region, the 'Golden Stone' region due to the lovely golden stone used for building in the area.

Exploring Anse

Anse has a number of defensive buildings due to the key position it once held on the route between Lyon and Macon. One of these is the Chateau des Tours, a 13th century castle which now houses a small museum of archeology. This has a wonderful Gallo Roman mosaic floor. The castle has a round keep and a semi-circular tower and a rectangular building linking the two.

There are various remaining parts of the original Gallo Roman ramparts in the town as well as the Castrum Tower which is one of seven towers built in Anse by the Romans. The mairie has a Gallo-Roman floor which was discovered in 1864.

The medieval old town of Anse is partly within the original Gallo-Roman Castrum. Buildings include 15th century houses and a communal bread oven.

The Chapel of St Cyprien is one of the oldest churches in France. Written records of the 13th century mention the chapel but its foundations are a lot older than this, examination of these walls reveal a 'fishbone' pattern of construction which was popular in Roman times. Church services stopped here during the 17th century and are now held in the eglise Saint Pierre.

The eglise of Saint Pierre had its steeple destroyed during bombing raids in the second world war. It now has an unusual modern steeple built in 2005.

Close to the village

If you are visiting Anse during the hot summer period take the tiny narrow gauge train - Le Petit Train- to the local lake where you can enjoy a number of water sports.

Anse is of course in the Beaujolais wine region of France and so a visit to some of the local vineyards for a spot of winetasting is almost obligatory!