A Walk from Ferney-Voltaire to Brétigny

A friend was celebrating her birthday in Brétigny, and because this village lies only about five or six kilometres from Ferney-Voltaire, I decided to walk. It was the perfect opportunity to finally familiarise myself with the area I have called my home these past two months despite spending most weekends away. 

First, I walked through the weekly farmer’s market to the post office, as I needed to send off a few things. I was shocked by how well everything worked. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by an employee who talked me through the process of buying some envelopes and filling in all the necessary information. She had her card reader at the ready to facilitate the process from start to finish.

I then walked to the Church of Our Lady and Saint Andrew, but I did not stay long as mourners seemed to be gathering there for a ceremony. The church lies not far from Château Voltaire – the residence where the writer and philosopher Voltaire spent the last twenty years of his life. Voltaire had previously lived in Geneva, but the fundamentalist doctrine of the ruling Calvinists would not let him put on plays in the city. He thus decided to move across the border into little town of Ferney, which soon became a hotspot for amusement-seeking Genevan elites. The town renamed itself Ferney-Voltaire in recognition of the flourishing Voltaire’s patronage.  

Château Voltaire was very pleasant, its grounds embellished by a quaint chapel, an orangery, and a few well-tended gardens with statues and sundials. A walk behind the residence leads visitors through a quaint semi-wooded area, where the autumn has sprouted carpets of cyclamens. Inside the château are various paintings, statues, and various other artworks, as well as relics from Voltaire’s everyday life. I did not find them particularly interesting, but perhaps that’s because I could not be bothered to read French on a Saturday morning.

I then walked north from Ferney-Voltaire to Moëns. As I approached the village’s main attraction, it occurred to me the Ferney-Voltaire, sleepy as it is, must be the pinnacle of the area’s cultural achievement. Moëns is not known for much besides its old church, which was founded around the twelfth century and unsanctified during the French Revolution, when it was converted to a farm annex. Given this fact, I kept my sunglasses on top of my head when I walked in, which cost me dearly. Not paying attention, I slammed my forehead straight into a wooden beam to the right of where the altar once would have been.

Somewhat lightheaded, I set off again and did not take long to make it to Brétigny. Nothing much happened on my way, except I stopped by a water fountain to wash my forehead and I saw a bird of prey. 

Château Voltaire
The chapel of the château
Another view of Château Voltaire
The garden of the chateau
The same
A sideview of the chateau
A statue at the chateau
The chateau's chapel
A clock at the chateau
The interior of the chateau
Another view of the chapel
The Church of Saint John the Baptist in Moëns
A wash-house in Moëns
A tree-lined road
Brétigny

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