La Tourette by Le Corbusier. If you travel to Lyon for either the cultural sites or for a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience (in 2010, UNESCO added France’s gastronomy tradition to the “world intangible heritage”) you may wish to stay a half-day longer to visit an icon of modern architecture.

Situated 25 miles in the hillside west of Lyon and easily accessible by train or car, the Dominican monastery of La Tourette (1956-61) overlooks the town of Eveux-sur-l’Arbresle, and is the creation of famed Swiss architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, commonly known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965). Completed in 1961 and recognized in 2016 as part of UNESCO “World Heritage Sites,” the Architecture –yes, with a capital A, remains one of the most recognizable works of Le Corbusier’s oeuvre, and continues to welcome neophyte visitors, students, and faculty in architecture from all over the world.