The Bourg-Saint-Maurice Mineral Museum gives you a glimpse into the ancestral tradition of the crystal seekers via a unique collection of crystals and furnaces...

From the Aime region as far as Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the apple has always been an important part of local history and has long supplemented the region's agricultural industry. This heaven-sent, rustic fruit can be used to make cider, as an ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes, and even as food for pigs. Reinette and Franc-Roseau varieties have even been exported. The apple trees grown in this region guarantee a wide variety can be harvested for eleven months of the year.

Since the 1960's however, farming methods became more and more specialised and traditional orchards have been abandoned little by little. Today they are seriously under threat. A little piece of Tarentaise heritage, as well as a genetic pool from which new varieties can be created, these orchards form part of an exciting ecosystem which encourages the growth of other plants and wildlife.

The little Maison de la Pomme in Chal, near Bourg-Saint-Maurice, will let you find out all about this invaluable part of local heritage and the campaign to save the orchards being carried out in the Tarentaise region.