Vaulx-en-Velin

Though the mere mention of Vaulx-en-Velin often conjures up images of the riotous history of some of its working-class neighbourhoods, the town deserves a second look to dispel these preconceptions. Because Vaulx-en-Velin is multi-faceted! It has areas of detached houses, a village, and a very modern neighbourhood (Carré de Soie) but also farmland and the Grand Parc Miribel Jonage.

Grand Parc Miribel Jonage, farming: Vaulx-en-Velin is a green town!

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Grand Parc Miribel Jonage

Contrary to popular stereotypes, Vaulx-en-Velin has its fair share of countryside. The Grand Parc Miribel Jonage ), which also encompasses parts of Décines-Charpieu, Meyzieu and Jonage, is one of Europe’s biggest metropolitan parks, covering 2,200 hectares of countryside. It features several sports fields and a golf course, and welcomes Greater Lyon residents area all year round for sports or outdoor activities. Whenever the weather is fine, its lakeside leisure centre, ‘L’Atol’, gives visitors a taste of the holidays. Optimists, catamarans, windsurfing, paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking, rowing: visitors come here to hit the water!

Vaulx-en-Velin’s farmlands still produce a good harvest, mainly cardoons. The town was even named “capital of the cardoon” and celebrates the regional vegetable in the village every 8th December.

Planétarium, Mini World, racecourse: unusual leisure activities in Vaulx-en-Velin

Another advantage of Vaulx-en-Velin is its excellent leisure infrastructure.

The Planetarium is one-of-a-kind in Greater Lyon, popularising astronomy and astrophysics with its exceptional facilities. In addition to a 12,000m² exhibition area displaying items as rare as a rocket or a particle detector, it is equipped with an immersive projection room featuring a 15m-diameter domed screen.

At the opposite end of the size spectrum, visitors to the Mini Worls Lyon amusement park can dive into a… miniature world! MiniWorld is the largest animated miniature park in France (>3,000m²) and includes a replica of the city of Lyon during the city’s annual Festival of Lights… Magical stuff!

inally, not far from this park, near the Carré de Soie neighbourhood, the racecourse puts on horse races, horse shows, and a range of major events all year round.

Atelier Léonard de Vinci, cirque Imagine: culture for all audiences

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Claire Morel

Down near the La Soie neighbourhood, the Imagine Circus’s big top hosts dinner shows combining the best of both worlds: circus AND cabaret. Acrobats, dancers, comedians, singers and illusionists, flying trapeze artists, etc.: it’s a flamboyant show!  The town also has ambitious cultural facilities.

Le Centre culturel communal Charlie Chaplin (5C, i.e., Charlie Chaplin municipal cultural centre), is a forum for artistic creation and performance, putting on a varied programme of theatre, dance, music, street art, circus, and hip hop.

The stunning Atelier Léonard de Vinci workshop, located in the heart of the underprivileged Mas du Taureau neighbourhood, is one of the monuments emblematic of Vaulx-en-Velin’s resurgence. This building, which is a media library, and social, cultural and community volunteering venue all rolled into one, as well as being equipped with a concert hall, games library, fab lab, and dance and music studios, was designed by Rudy Ricciotti, also the architect of Marseille’s famous Mucem.

Finally, as an “art-house” venue, the Les Amphis municipal cinema screens films of all sorts, and organises the politically-engaged short-film festival “Un Poing C’est Court” every January.

À Vaulx Jazz, Woodstower: prestigious events

In addition to this festival, the town plays host to a range of ambitious cultural events.

À Vaulx Jazz books internationally-renowned artists and regional musicians to play the Centre Culturel Charlie Chaplin in March. Now organised every 2 years, it alternates with the Biennale des Cultures Urbaines (i.e., urban culture biennial), which showcases hip-hop, rap, stand-up, slam poetry, and street-art artists.

At the end of August, Woodstower puts on a series of shows by prestigious artists from the rap and electro scenes on the shores of the Grand Parc Miribel Jonage’s lake. Finally, in September, Art Sacra pays tribute to sacred traditions, giving visitors the chance to discover Arabic calligraphy, tales from different cultures, or the Gospel repertoire.

Enfin, si l’usine Tase (Textile Artificiel du Sud-Est) Finally, though the Tase (Textile Artificiel du Sud-Est) factory was the venue for a variety of Biennale d’art contemporain de Lyon contemporary art exhibitions, it’s still possible to visit this stunning building, which is a listed historical monument.