Caves de la Chartreuse


Comprising a museum, cellars, bar/tasting room and gift shop, the Chartreuse Cellars lead visitors through centuries of liqueur history. The distillation of the emerald-green elixir by the Carthusian monks of Grande Chartreuse, traced back to a 1605 manuscript, survived the monks' post-Revolution expulsion from France and the 20th-century nationalisation of the distillery. The museum stops short of giving away the recipe, supposedly a top-secret melange of more than 130 herbs, but a tasting of the final products is included.

Tastings invite you to discern the difference between the floral, acacia honey notes of yellow Chartreuse and the herbal, mint-tinged (and more powerful) green version. Of course, there are bottles to buy from the gift shop (from €15.99) or you can sip a Chartreuse cocktail in the adjoining bar.

There are also tours of the fragrant Chartreuse cellars, where you’ll wander past gigantic oaken barrels and try a dab of the 69%-alcohol Elixir Végétal from which Chartreuse is blended. Tours in English are usually daily at noon (€15); reserve ahead on the website.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Musée de la Grande Chartreuse

9.52 MILES

Encircled by forest-draped cliffs, this intriguing museum explores the millennia-long history of the Grande Chartreuse monastery, 2km north. Thirty-odd…

2. Parc Naturel Régional de Chartreuse

11.35 MILES

Limestone promontories, dense forests and a powerful liqueur are the signature features of this 767-sq-km regional park. The 1300km of marked walking…

3. Musée des Troupes de Montagne

12.84 MILES

Though the subject is niche, this museum exploring France's elite Alpine regiments, which date to 1888, is riveting. An audioguide (in French, English,…

4. Fort de la Bastille

12.85 MILES

After a fun ride in the téléphérique, or a steep, hour-long climb, the reward is a magnificent mountain panorama from Grenoble's stocky fortress, built…

5. Musée Archéologique

13.04 MILES

This highly impressive museum unveils the secrets of a 12th-century church and cloister using light effects, a haunting choral soundtrack and an…

6. Le Magasin

13.08 MILES

A cavernous glass-and-steel warehouse built by Gustave Eiffel has been turned into one of France's leading centres of contemporary art. Many of the…

7. Musée Dauphinois

13.11 MILES

This ever-evolving museum unleashes a century of regional history on visitors. Suits of armour are back-lit in brightly coloured rooms, 3-D family trees…

8. Téléphérique Grenoble-Bastille

13.22 MILES

Hop into a clear-panelled spherical pod for dreamy views of Grenoble's red roofs and magnificent mountains on this cable-car ride up to the Bastille. Les…