Mont Boussuivre, Mountain summit in Loire, France

Mont Boussuivre rises to 999 m in the commune of Violay, its summit covered by a small clearing. The summit carries the circular stone Tour Matagrin, built in 1876, and beside it a taller telecommunications tower whose stacked platforms hold dish and panel antennas. Deciduous and coniferous trees, including Douglas fir, Norway spruce, European larch and European beech, border the clearing.

The Matagrin Tower is a circular stone building erected in 1876 as a hunting lodge for the notary Maître Matagrin, then owner of the surrounding land. Its original conical slate roof disappeared at the Liberation. A stone marker from the Napoleonic era, when the site served as a triangulation point for France, is set into the masonry. A new roof was hoisted on 6 April 2012, restoring its original appearance.

The name Boussuivre appears in the Lyon cartulary from 1239, evolving from Beaucero to Buessuevre and Boussièvre before settling on its current form. The stream rising on the mountain carries the same name down to the Turdine at Tarare. The summit's stone tower, built in 1876 for notary Matagrin, lost its conical slate roof at the Liberation and regained a roof on 6 April 2012.

The best time to visit is during warmer months when the paths are easy to walk and views are clear. Good footwear and water supplies are advisable for longer hikes.

The 360° orientation table sits atop the Tour Matagrin, the stone tower built in 1876, not on the bare summit. From there the view takes in the Roannais, Tarare and Beaujolais, the Alps from Mont Blanc to the Écrins, the Bugey and the Lyon plain, with the Pilat crests and Mézenc to the south.