I’m back in Auvergne. It’s been a while… I’m not sure if you remember, but it was 2 years ago, and I had taken a rather nature-focused trip near the Sancy Massif. Today, I’m returning to the region to discover the city of Moulins and its surroundings (which will be the subject of another article) at the invitation of the Moulins Tourist Office and in the company of a fellow blogger, Mélody from Bobbie. Moulins is the capital chosen and built by and for the powerful Bourbon family, and it is truly the history of this family that left the biggest impression on me during my little getaway in the city. This rich past weaves together important names from French history, such as Anne de France, who became Anne de Beaujeu after her marriage to a Duke of Bourbon. The city’s peak occurred between 1327 and 1527 when Moulins was at the head of the Bourbonnais duchy.
I particularly loved the city’s very pretty historic district with its cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses, which I strongly advise you to visit during your time in Moulins. As usual, I’m offering a little guide with ideas for outings, visits, and a selection of gourmet addresses.
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Table of Contents
Guided tours of the city of Moulins
The Moulins Tourist Office offers numerous guided tours of the city on various themes. It’s a great way to discover the city if you aren’t familiar with it, but also to deepen your knowledge for those who have already visited.
Rates: €6 for adults / €3 for students and schoolchildren / free for children under 12
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The National Centre of Stage Costume
This unique venue, located in a former 18th-century military barracks (a listed historical monument) and open since 2006, presents a magnificent collection of stage costumes (dance, theater, opera) from the mid-19th century to the present day. The center offers a permanent exhibition around the Rudolf Nureyev collection (my dear mom, I’m sure you would have loved it), which allows visitors to discover the world of this legendary 20th-century dancer through the set design of Ezio Frigerio, who knew the artist well.
In addition to this, the national establishment offers a temporary exhibition that changes every 6 months. Currently, it is titled: Fashion! In the city, on stage (until September 17, 2017). This exhibition, which unveils the intersecting relationships and influences between the history of fashion and that of stage costume from the 18th century to today, is a true panorama of the evolution of the female silhouette through 130 costumes.
The tip: guided tour with a docent at 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM every Saturday and Sunday and every day during school holidays for Zone A.
The National Centre of Stage Costume Quartier Villars, route de Montilly 03000 Moulins open every day from 10 am to 6 pm Rates: €7 full price / €3 reduced price / free for children under 12
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Notre-Dame Cathedral
This former collegiate church with an unfinished nave was expanded in the 19th century when Moulins became a bishopric. Do not hesitate to go inside to admire its architecture and works of art.
Notre-Dame Cathedral place des Vosges Moulins open all year from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm free visit
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The Visitation Museum
Since 1991, this museum has preserved the heritage of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (silks, embroidery, goldsmithing, jewelry, etc.), a monastic order that has established 89 monasteries around the world. The museum also presents a thematic exhibition around lace at the Demoret hotel, from May to December 2017: Lace Fashions, Fashionable Lace. This exhibition allows visitors to discover hundreds of different laces from the 16th century to the present day, which have been passed down to us by the nuns.
Lace exhibition rate: €4 adult / free for children up to 12 years old Demoret Hotel 83 rue d'Allier Moulins Visitation Museum 4 place de l'Ancien Palais 03000 Moulins open all year from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm Rates: €7 adult / €4 child from 12 to 18 years old
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The Maison Mantin
This visit is a journey through time, an immersion into the atmosphere of a late 19th-century bourgeois home. In the heart of the city of Moulins, on the site of one of the wings of the former Bourbon castle destroyed in a fire, Louis Mantin, a wealthy bourgeois, had his home built in 1895 to live in but also to house his collections. The house, eclectic in style, is the work of René Moreau, an important architect of the region at that time.
A particularly notable fact is that at the time of his death in 1905, his will bequeathed his villa and part of its contents to the city so that it could turn it into a museum to show “to visitors, in 100 years, a specimen of a 19th-century bourgeois home…” He ultimately had a very avant-garde vision, that man… The restoration of the house, undertaken in 2007, allows us today to fulfill the wish of Louis Mantin. A visit to this place is worth it as much for the beauty of the house and for what it contains, as for the magnificent journey through time it offers to the visitors who venture there.
Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum and Maison Mantin
Place du Colonel Laussedat 03000 Moulins
closed on Mondays for the rest of the year
open every day in July and August
Rates: €8 full price / €6 reduced price / free for children under 12
The house can only be visited with a docent and by reservation_
The Mal Coiffée, the castle of the Dukes of Bourbon
This iconic monument of Moulins and the Bourbonnais narrowly escaped total destruction at the time of the cathedral’s expansion. Today, all that remains of the medieval castle of the Dukes of Bourbon (heavily destroyed during a fire in 1755) is the dungeon, humorously nicknamed the Mal Coiffée (the Ill-Coiffed) in reference to its small roof, built at the end of the 14th century by Louis II.
The building is also very famous in the region for having been a prison from the end of the 18th century until 1983. The site also served as a prison during the Second World War, which clearly left some painful memories in the collective memory… The visit ends on the curtain wall at the top of the tower, which allows you to enjoy a breathtaking view of the city and its pretty roofs. The site can only be visited via a guided tour as well.
La Mal Coiffée
Place du Colonel Laussedat 03000 Moulins
Open from May 30 to June 30 and from September 1 to September 30 on Wednesdays at 3 pm and Saturdays at 10:30 am / from July 1 to August 31 Monday to Friday at 10:30 am – 11:15 am – 2 pm – 3 pm – 4 pm – 5 pm / Saturday morning at 10:30 am and 11:15 am / Sundays at 2 pm – 3 pm – 4 pm
Rates: €5 full price / €3 reduced price / free for children under 12_
The Museum of Youth Illustration
This cultural establishment opened its doors in 2005 as the Illustration Centre and has since 2012 become the Museum of Youth Illustration (mij). The museum offers, in the Hôtel de Mora (a very beautiful 18th-century private mansion), a permanent path that allows you to learn about the history of illustration, temporary exhibitions (renewed 3 times a year), and artists in residence who are there to interact with the public. This space, unique in France, devoted to the world of youth illustration, possesses a very beautiful collection that preserves original plates as well as illustrated albums and books.
Museum of Youth Illustration
26 rue Voltaire 03016 Moulins
Next temporary exhibition from July 8, 2017 to January 7, 2018
Carll Cneut «Exuberances and Beauty»
Rates: €5 full price / €3 reduced price / free for children under 16_
Hot baths at Spa Céphise at the Hôtel de Paris-Moulins
Installed in the basement of the Chapel of the Hôtel de Paris, the Notre-Dame wellness area offers, in a setting of old stones and Romanesque vaults, a sauna, hammam, jacuzzi, bubble bath, floatarium, and à la carte treatments. The perfect place to relax and recharge after a day of intense activities, discoveries, visits, and getaways…
Hôtel de Paris-Moulins 21 rue de Paris 03000 Moulins Rates: €30
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My great addresses in Moulins
As usual, I have made a small selection of gourmet addresses tested during this short stay in Moulins.
Restaurant La Fabrik
This address clearly has its little reputation in the city and it is the perfect place to go for a drink (wine bar, cocktails) after work or simply to go to dinner around good-quality bistronomic cuisine.
Price: dish of the day at €9.90 / menu of the day at €16 / dishes between €14 and €21 in the evening
Restaurant La Fabrik 11, rue de la Batterie 03000 Moulins
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Les Palets d’Or
This chocolate specialty of Moulins was created at the end of the 19th century by Bernard Séréardy. It is a chocolate that is semi-bitter with a ganache slightly scented with coffee and covered by a few flakes of fine gold. Below I give you the good address (the original one actually) to bring this specialty back in your suitcases!
Confiseur Chocolatier B. Seraroy 11 rue de Paris (original boutique) 03007 Moulins
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Le Grand Café
A very beautiful brasserie from the late 19th century with an art deco decor listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments. By the way, for the record, Coco Chanel certainly frequented the establishment, because when she was just 20 years old, she worked in a Moulins tailoring house. It’s the opportunity to taste a piece of Charolais beef from the Bourbonnais (label rouge), very appreciated in the region. I recommend the Pavé du Boucher (€15.50), which is a very melt-in-the-mouth piece of meat.
Le Grand Café
49 place d'Allier 03000 Moulins
Closed on Sunday evenings except in July and August
Price: menu of the day at €18 / à la carte expect between €21.90 and €32.90_
Restaurant La Cuisine d’Hervé
This address is a very good gastronomic restaurant with traditional cuisine and very elaborate dishes. It is a very beautiful table that I really recommend if you want to treat yourself culinarily speaking. Do not hesitate to taste the wines of the region, very friendly, to accompany your meal: Saint-Pourçain appellation (which is actually one of the oldest vineyards in France from what I was told…).
The little extra: the beautiful terrace for nice days and the veranda for less pleasant weather…
Price: menus at €30 and €55
La Cuisine d'Hervé 36 cours Jean Jaurès 03000 Moulins
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Restaurant Mareja
A friendly pasta bar, salad bar, and smoothie address. The idea is great; you choose the ingredients you want and they are mixed in front of us with a sauce of your choice to make an original salad (or not, depending on your tastes). As someone who loves making mixed salads with lots and lots of stuff inside, I was thrilled!
Restaurant Mareja 4 place de la Liberté 03000 Moulins The little extra: the small terrace to sit outside and eat your salad in the sun during the summer season Price: meal deal at €10 with a large salad of your choice + a drink or a glass of wine
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Practical information for getting to Moulins
From Paris, it is really very simple and inexpensive to come to Moulins by Intercités train (about 2h30 by train from Paris), via the SNCF Paris-Moulins line departing from the Bercy station.
I hope that with all this, I have made you want to discover or rediscover Moulins, and if you too have your own great addresses for this destination, do not hesitate to share them in the comments!
Photo credits: Melle Bon Plan (photos taken with the Kodak PixPro AZ526) Photos not royalty-free, permission from the photographer is mandatory before any use
