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: "Black gold and grain of salt".
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…
Ouverture
From 19/12/2021 to 29/04/2022 between 2 pm and 6 pm.
Closed on Saturday.
Closed exceptionally on January 1st and December 25th.
From 12/06 to 30/06/2022 between 2 pm and 6 pm.
Closed on Saturday.
From 01/07 to 31/08/2022
Opening hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday between 10 am and 12 pm and between 2 pm and 6 pm. On Wednesday and Friday between 2 pm and 7 pm.
Closed on Saturday.
Tourisme adapté
- Site, building totally accessible
Localisation
Langues parlées
- German
- English
- French
- Italian
- Dutch
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