Interpretation centre The Old Customs House

Open the door of Châtel's Old Customs House to discover a different side to this cross-border region.

Children and adults will enjoy a fascinating trip back in time, learning about the game of cat and mouse that went on between the smugglers and the customs officers (known as "gabelous") in the mountains of the Portes du Soleil before the advent of winter sports. With lots of eyewitness
accounts and a fascinating exhibition packed with documents and illustrations, the Old Customs House tells the story of a picturesque world full of surprises!

Temporary exhibition: Did you know that salt, the ‘white gold’ of the 18th century, and oil, the ‘black gold’ of the modern day, have much in common? In those far
off days as now, these commodities were and are a valuable part of our everyday lives, hence their national strategic importance, both in terms of tax revenue
and foreign policy. As a result, both ‘white gold’ and ‘black gold’ have crossed the border as contraband, with rival smugglers and customs officials playing an
ingenious cat-and-mouse game…