A Tour of Molsheim

Provided by Guy Schitter and Damien Schitter, text Jaap Horst

Those who are going to France may want to pass though the famous town of Molsheim, where the Bugattis were built, and where VW now again is building the Veyron. This Bugatti Revue article aims at being sort of a guide, so that you can find the major sights.

On the detailed plan above, you can see the major Molsheim sites, plus the family grave which is in the nearby village of Dorlisheim. Clicking this map will give you an overview map, with the village of Duppigheim to the extreme right. Here is the monument located at the place where Jean Bugatti had his mortal accident in 1939.

Fondation Bugatti

The Fondation Bugatti is located in the Musée de la Chartreuse, which is only 3min. walk from the centre of town. The museum can be visited, and a Bugatti Type 35 and a Type 57 can be seen.

Hostellerie St.Jean

Here Ettore Bugatti received his clients, it´s the home of the Alsation club Enthousiastes Bugatti, but cannot be visited. Located neighbouring he original Bugatti factory, at 1,5km from the town centre, to the south.

Messier Bugatti

Messier - Bugatti is located 2km from Molsheim-Centre, and is the factory where Bugatti built his cars and autorails. Currently aircraft-parts are being made here, notably undercarriages and brake systems.

On the factory terrain is the old Écuries d’Ettore Bugatti (The right one of the above pictures), besides the factory parking lot. Neither can be visited.

Château St.Jean

The Château St.Jean, originally belonging to the Bugatti family (though not their home), now is the headquarters of Bugatti International SAS. No visits.

Atelier Veyron

Here production (let´s say: assembly) of the newest Bugatti Veyron has just started. It´s located near the crossing of D 422 / D 392 - At 4 km south of town centre. No visits.

Tombeau Bugatti

The graves of the Bugatti family are in the middle of the graveyard of the village of Dorlisheim, on the D 392. The graveyard is near the East entrance of the village.

Stèle Jean Bugatti

The monument at the site of the mortal accident of Jean Bugatti is near Duppigheim, in the direction of Entzheim.

For further Questions, you can contact the "office du tourisme" (Tourist office):
19, Place de l’Hôtel de Ville
Tel. 03 88 38 11 61
Fax 03 88 49 80 40

Nearby Molsheim: Mulhouse

How to reach Mulhouse from Molsheim.

While you are in the neighbourhood, you shouldn´t forget to visit the town of Mulhouse, less than 100km to the south of Molsheim. The fabulous Schlumpf collection is there, now called the Musee National de l´Automobile. There is a splendid collection there of Bugattis, including many one-offs and prototypes, which the Schlumpf brothers bought directly from the factory.
The maps will indicate you where to go, though the museum is very well indicated also.

Reaching the museum in the Centre of Mulhouse.

COLLECTION SCHLUMPF Musée National de l'Automobile

192, avenue de Colmar - BP 1096 - 68051 Mulhouse cedex
Téléphone : 33 (0) 389 332 323. Télécopie : 33(0) 389 320 809

And, Mulhouse has another Bugatti treasure, a Bugatti Autorail in the Railway museum, which is interesting enough in its own right!

The Railway museum is just a few minutes (by car) from the Schlumpf collection.

Musée Francais du Chemin de fer

2, rue Alfred de Glehn
F-68200 Mulhouse - France
Additional info (opening times etc.) can be found here:

Musée National de l'Automobile
Musée Francais du Chemin de fer, Railway museum

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