Village de Dargoire

Description

The last outpost of Saint-Étienne before you hit Lyon territory, Dargoire (and its tiny 2 square km of surface) is proud to display its thousand-year old history and its precipitous site. It's a winding climb to get up there, but it's well worth a look.

There had to be one and this is it. The smallest village in the district.

But don't rely on appearances, it may be small, with a population of only 500 souls, but it has everything the bigger boys have.
Like its bigger friends with more people, it has its medieval church, its stone houses and it had a ruined castle (just a small mention for the castle, as it has been entirely dismantled).
As it wanted to keep some souvenirs of the castle even so, all the stones left over from it were used to build the houses in the surrounding area. Nice idea, no?
Its past is a mining past, but no firedamp here! It proudly exhibits its town gate, its lantern-statue of the Virgin and its cobbled streets.
Another particularity of the village is that it is exactly half way between Lyon and Saint Etienne. At a crossroads in the Roman roads. But it has picked its side: its heart is green like the nature all around it (except for the cows, which normally are not green).
Climb up to the top of the Chemin de Paradis (that's not a metaphor - it's really called Paradise way) and enjoy the view. At certain times, you can even spot some deer in the fields.