From nuclear power to lambskin gloves to see-through umbrellas, France’s roster of richly skilled artisans encompasses all areas of industry. And many of them welcome visitors.

Perhaps more than any other country in Europe, France truly values its working heritage and the skilled artisans armed with specialist savoir-faire, handed down to them from previous generations. Here we celebrate this artisanship, bringing together a whole host of cottage industries, from farming, gastronomy, alcohol, clocks and fashion to umbrellas, machinery, cosmetics and even the nuclear industry.

L’Oulibo olive oil cooperative

Bize-Minervois (Aude)

It was all the way back in 1942 that the Oulibo mill first started producing its high-quality olives and olive oil. Today, a cooperative of 850 producers nurture the local olive varieties, in particular the Lucques de Languedoc, known as ‘the green diamond of Occitania‘, whose bright green, crunchy flesh has earned it AOP status. A tour around the mill and its surrounding olive groves gives visitors an insight into all the cultivation, harvesting and manufacture techniques involved. At the end there’s a tasting of the olives and their oil.

Perle brewery

Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin)

Thanks to the Germanic influence, the Alsatians really know how to do biergartens. The Perle brewery, in Strasbourg, founded in 1882 and now run by the founder’s great-great-grandson, is the perfect example. There’s room for 200 people in the garden and a further 80 indoors. On brewery visits, guests can discover the various stages of brewing before finishing off with a tasting.

19th-century industry of Troyes

Troyes (Aube)

This gorgeous city, in the champagne wine region east of Paris, boasts many historical buildings, including some amazing half-timbered houses dating back to the 16th century. But it was in the 19th century, when the hosiery industry took off, that Troyes came into its own. Factories sprouted up, producing stockings, underwear and, later, polo shirts. Famous brands such as Lacoste, Petit Bateau, Olympia and Dim were all born here. Visitors can follow a city circuit that takes in many of the key industrial sites including factories, the Lucien Zins swimming pool (named after the Olympic swimmer), the old railway station, the Petit Bateau centre and the gardens on Boulevard Gambetta.

Manufacturing in the Pays de Montbéliard

Montbéliard and surrounds (Doubs)

The Route des Savoir-Faire is a huge network of artisanal, industrial, gastronomic and agricultural sites in and around the lovely town of Montbéliard. At Sochaux, you’ll find the Musée de L’Aventure Peugeot, a restoration workshop, spare parts stockist and museum dedicated to the famous car brand. At Fesches-le-Châtel, Cristel has its factory of high-end culinary utensils. In Etupes, there’s a weaving workshop called La Manufacture Métis, and elsewhere on the route, there’s a furniture-restorer, a mason, a spectacle-maker, a florist, an apiarist, a leather-worker, a bicycle-restorer, a cheese-maker, a snail specialist, a picture-framer, a watch-maker… and many more. This really is your chance to see artisanal cottage industries at their finest.

La Maison Fabre glove-maker

Millau (Aveyron)

The limestone soils surrounding Millau are shallow, rocky and dry, and with the grass thin and scarce, only hardy sheep can find the food they need. It’s the lambs that provide the leather for Millau’s famous glove-making industry. Indeed, by the 1960s, there were 75 glove factories here, employing thousands of craftsmen and women and producing hundreds of thousands of gloves. Nowadays, with competition from abroad, that number has dwindled. But there are still several manufacturers you can visit, including Causse Gantier, Atelier du Gantier and La Maison Fabre.

The latter, set up by Étienne Fabre, has been manufacturing high-quality gloves since 1924 and this year marks its centenary. The company offers fascinating guided tours around its factory. Even today, fashion designers and manufacturers still source their gloves from Millau to grace the hands of the rich and famous. Among the celebrities to source their gloves here are Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron.

Laboratoires Pierre Fabre cosmetics

Cambounet-sur-le-Sor & Soual (Tarn)

Founded in 1962 by Pierre Fabre, this pharmaceutical and cosmetics company creates some of the world’s most respected skin cosmetics. There are two sites open to visitors: the company’s botanical conservatory in Cambounet-sur-le-Sor, where more than 900 plant species are grown, many of which are protected; and the Soual production site where the company’s cosmetics are manufactured.

Bénédictine liqueur

Fécamp (Seine-Maritime)

Inside the wonderful half-Gothic, half-Renaissance-style Palais Bénédictine, there’s a museum and art gallery, as well as the distillery where the world-famous liqueur of the same name is produced. The clever chap who, in 1863, discovered the ancient monastic recipe for this drink Alexandre Le Grand – is the same man who had the palace built. Visitors can take themed tours of the palace, culminating in drinks tasting, cocktail making and restaurant meals. If you believe the marketing hypе, only three living people at any one time are permitted to know the drink’s actual recipe which is preserved in a dusty old book, hidden in a safe in the depths of the palace.

Flamanville nuclear power plant

Flamanville (Manche)

There are two nuclear reactors dating from the 1980s at this power plant near Cherbourg, plus a third one due for completion imminently. EDF offers free tours of the plant, during which you’ll learn about all aspects of nuclear energy production. Dotted across France, there are more than 50 nuclear reactors, ensuring that this form of energy is the largest source of electricity in the country.

The Chastang dam

Servières-le-Château (Corrèze)

This hydro-electric dam, dating from the 1950s, sits on the Dordogne river between Servières-le-Château and Saint-Martin-la-Méanne. As well as producing energy, it regulates the flow of the vast river, helping with tourist and fishing activities. Visitors are able to enter into the bowels of the dam where they’ll see the engine room and the valve room and get a sense of the structure’s enormity as it rises 85m above the river and stretches 300m across.

Confiserie Géromoise

Gérardmer (Vosges)

‘The pearl of the Vosges’ is what this artisanal sweet manufacturer in Gérardmer calls its products. Free of charge, visitors can find out how the sweets are made and enjoy a tasting of the various flavours at the end. Boiled sweets, pastilles, organi: sweets, raspberry, honey, eucalyptus, mint, orange, cherry, anise there’s something for every sweet tooth.

Neyrat umbrella factory

Autun (Saône-et-Loire)

This factory, in Burgundy, has been making umbrellas since 1852 when François Neyrat first set up his business. At one point, there were more than 400 umbrella-makers in France, with Neyrat dominating the market. In the 1960s, the company launched the first transparent umbrella and by the early 1970s it was employing close to 400 people and producing 1.5m umbrellas a year. Since the 1850 it has produced more than 150m umbrellas in total. Visitors can discover the high-end skills and materials needed to manufacture this indispensable item.

La Botte Gardiane boot-maker

Aigues-Vives (Gard)

A guided tour of this shoe-making workshop, in the Camargue, will give you a fascinating insight into the leatherwork, tanning, stitching and other handicrafts needed to create such high quality boots, shoes and sandals. Founded in the late 1950, the company produces 12,000 pairs a year and promises: “Every pair of shoes leaving the workshop is crafted with meticulous precision, fusing comfort, quality materials, kongevity and, most importantly, elegant, timeless design.” Don’t be at all surprised if you spot a pair on one of the famous Camargue gardians (cowboys).

Manufacture Vuillemin

Francis (Doubs)

In 2020, the watch- and clock-making region of the Jura, which spans the border between France and Switzerland, was added to UNESCO‘s list of intangible cultural heritage. One of the many timepiece manufacturers here, with more than 50 years of savoir-faire, is La Manufacture Vuillemin. At its workshop, it produces wall clocks, grandfather clocks, mantel clocks and a selection of watches. Veitoes are shown a display of the manufacture, assembly and final adjustment of these fine machines.

From France Today magazine