Le Corbusier designed only one factory in his long career, and it stands in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, a town in the Meurthe valley on the western side of the Vosges mountains. The Manufacture Claude et Duval, a hosiery factory built between 1946 and 1951, is a concrete block raised on pilotis, with a roof terrace and brightly coloured interiors, and it embodies many of the architect's principles. It was part of his plans for the reconstruction of Saint-Dié after the town was largely destroyed by the retreating German army in November 1944, though most of his grand urban plan was never built. In 2016, the factory was included in the UNESCO listing of the architectural work of Le Corbusier, alongside buildings in seven countries.
Saint-Dié has another claim to fame: it is known as the "godmother of America". In 1507, a group of scholars here published a cosmography with a world map that used the name "America" for the first time, in honour of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. The town celebrates the connection, and the international geography festival held here each autumn draws visitors from around the world. The cathedral, rebuilt after the war, and the cloister next to it, are worth a look.
The riding around Saint-Dié is excellent. The town is a gateway to the Vosges, with roads climbing east toward Alsace over passes such as the Col de Saales and the Col du Bonhomme, with forests, curves and views. The Route des Crêtes, the famous ridge road along the crest of the Vosges, is within reach, offering spectacular riding with wide views over Alsace and the Rhine plain. Traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, and some high roads are closed in winter. The forests are dense and dark, and the weather can turn quickly, with rain and fog common.
Saint-Dié is a town of around twenty-five thousand people with fuel, cafés, restaurants and supermarkets. Local food includes Vosges dishes such as tourte lorraine, a meat pie, and Munster cheese, together with bilberry tarts in season. The factory is still in use and can be visited only at certain times, so check ahead. Even from the outside, its clean lines and pilotis are striking. Then head up into the mountains for a ride through the forests.