Etape 1 - Brunissard > La chalp > Ville-Vieille

> HERITAGE
# Arvieux Valley
Nestled at the bottom of the Col d'Izoard, Brunissard is the largest village in the Arvieux Valley. The old part of the village has some fine houses in the style typical of the Arvieux valley.
It has a grouped heritage complex, unique in Queyras, representative of traditional village life:
- its evangelical chapel, rebuilt in the 19th century, which for a time also served as a school;
- its Catholic chapel dedicated to St Peter ;
- its dairy, used to receive and process the milk produced in the village;
- its bread oven - which belongs to the village - topped by its bell tower, which was used as a meeting place for the heads of families;
- its 'école Jules Ferry’, now the School Museum. A departure point in the era of emigration.
Brunissard and La Chalp, located 1km downstream, are still predominantly Protestant villages.
The village of La Chalp, the focal point of winter tourism, is more ‘modernised’ - the headquarters of the ‘Les jouets du Queyras’ cooperative - with the presbytery (now sold), La Chalp was for a long time the headquarters of the Protestant parish of Queyras.

# Catinat and the Houses
When crossing the Catinat massif, it's worth remembering that the name Catinat comes from Louis XIV's general who, with his army, raided the Queyras in 1692-93. He is said to have set up camp at the summit of the massif.
Admire the beautiful larch forest, a tree of light that encourages grass growth.
From Les Maisons you can see the valley of Arvieux, its main town with its church and temple. And, in perspective, the mountain ranges above the Gorges du Guil.

# Lac de Roue
The Roue plateau is one of the most typical sites in the Queyras, with its ancient meadows, larch trees and ‘motte flottante’ lake on an ancient peat bog.
Water clover, combined with pondweeds, form floating meadows that are home to the Marsh Potentilla, a protected species.

# Château Ville-Vieille
The descent to Château-Queyras gives you a great view of ‘Fort Queyras’ and the impact of this ancient medieval fortress in the middle of the valley.
In Ville-Vieille, a village that was largely rebuilt after the 1957 floods, you can see the Craftsmen's Cooperative and find out more at the Tourist Office.

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