Musée muséum départemental des Hautes-Alpes

About the museum

The museum’s origins go back to the early 19th century, when the prefect of the Hautes-Alpes, Baron de Ladoucette, proposed creating a natural history museum with a botanical garden in Gap, near the École centrale. The first building project was abandoned after the foundation stones were laid, but it encouraged local collections of mineralogy, archaeology and numismatics.

The decisive step came in 1892 with the donation of the collection of naturalist Léon Olphe-Galliard. A public subscription then financed a new building designed by the departmental architect Léon Chaudier: a neoclassical structure with a base of pink stone from Guillestre and a monumental staircase. The museum opened in September 1910 and later expanded its collections of regional ethnology, initially focused on the Queyras.

A renovation carried out in 1986 by architect Georges Dusserre doubled the exhibition space. The current permanent display covers five levels and 1,600 m² and addresses how people live, know, create and exchange in the mountains, with natural history, painting, archaeology and ethnology.

Highlights

• Collection of naturalist Léon Olphe-Galliard
• Regional ethnology collections, notably from the Queyras
• Archaeological finds, including a dolium from La Bâtie-Montsaléon and a dolmen
• Neoclassical building from 1910 in the Pépinière park
• Free admission all year round

Permanent exhibition

• Parcours permanent : vivre, connaître, créer et échanger dans la montagne – Five levels of collections on natural history, painting, archaeology and regional ethnology of the Hautes-Alpes.

Founded

1910

Operated by

Département des Hautes-Alpes

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free all year round, activities included, though visitors must still check in at reception. Quarterly activities (tours, workshops, lectures) are free upon registration.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

Lifts serve all levels, and a wheelchair can be borrowed at reception. There is a parking space for people with reduced mobility in front of the museum. Folding seats are lent on request. Induction loops are available at the reception, the lecture hall and the Micro-Folie area, and some videos have subtitles. A thermoforming machine allows certain works to be reproduced in relief, and room sheets can be printed in large print; documents in easy-to-read language are available on request (advance preparation: call the museum). For groups, tactile, sensory, audio-described or sign-language tours can be organized as part of a project. Only guide dogs for the blind are admitted.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Booklets and small games are available at reception or for download. A small room for young children is located on the second floor; strollers may enter the galleries, and the basement toilets have a changing table.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located in the Pépinière park, 6 avenue Maréchal Foch in Gap.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check: not available
• Lockers

Bookshop (books and catalogues on the collections and local history, children’s books, souvenirs). No cloakroom: free-access lockers are available for backpacks and bulky items. No café or restaurant; picnicking in the Pépinière park is possible in good weather. Umbrellas and bulky items are not allowed in the galleries.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit