A concrete box on stilts, set on a slope among trees, is not what you expect from a Dominican priory. Le Corbusier designed the convent of La Tourette in the late 1950s for the friars of the order, and it was completed in 1960, with the young composer and architect Iannis Xenakis working on its rhythmic window walls. The church is a bare cube of rough concrete, lit by a few carefully placed openings, and the cells for the friars are small and very quiet, each with a balcony. It is a place where the building is the sermon, and it was added to the UNESCO list in 2016.
It stands in the hills of the Monts du Lyonnais, about twenty-five kilometres from Lyon, near the village of Éveux and the old mining hamlets of Sourcieux-les-Mines and Sain-Bel. The countryside is soft and green, with orchards, pastures and small forests, and the roads are narrow and winding, with farm traffic and cyclists on fine days. Surfaces are generally good, with the odd patch of rough tarmac, and the corners are the kind that reward a relaxed pace.
Visits are usually by guided tour, and the community also takes guests who wish to stay, so check opening times before you ride up, because the friars' schedule is not flexible. The approach is steep and the car park is small. Dress quietly, switch off your phone and keep your voice low inside, since there is a living community here, and silence is part of the building.
The nearest places with fuel and a decent meal are Sain-Bel and the larger town of L'Arbresle, a few minutes down the valley, while Lyon has everything and a rich food culture, with its famous bouchons serving andouillette, quenelles and pink pralines. This ride links Le Corbusier's earlier works, the Maison de la Culture at Firminy, with the Cistercian abbey of Hautecombe on Lac du Bourget, so it is a day for architecture lovers, with a mix of concrete and stone, and a lot of good road in between.