Quit the routine and take a real holiday – in the Ardèche! The Ardèche is just made for getting away from it all. While away the time in its tiny bistrots, enjoy a game of pétanque in the shade of its village squares, admire the sleepy alleyways of its tiny villages with their ochre-coloured stone and delightful names, visit its local markets with their delicious smells and flavours, and be prepared for a culture shock – that of boundless expanses and unforgettable landscapes, sculpted by time. Timeless Ardèche knows how to welcome its guests and has a keen sense of all the different facets of its rugged and forceful character.
Savour the Ardèche like the juicy fruits that grow in the orchards of Eyrieux Valley, run your hands over the sun-soaked stone of its villages, or quite simply enjoy the Ardèche with an afternoon's bathing in one of its rivers, or a gentle family ramble down one of its innumerable country footpaths.
Taste the Ardèche with its chestnuts, cultivated here since time immemorial, its vast expanses of pine, holm oak and bracken, its open valleys, its unspoiled mountains and its world-famous gorges. The Ardèche is as diverse as a voyage to lands afar, with its magnificent villages which stand out proudly against the dazzling summer sun – Balazuc, Antraigues, Thines, Saint-Montan, Voguë, Beauchastel, Bannes, Desaignes, Chalencon, Alba-la-Romaine, and many, many more.
Equally unforgettable are the fortified castles watching over the valleys – Ventadour, Tournon-sur-Rhône, Crussol, Aubenas and Rochemaure, to name only a few.
Tradition is as strong as ever in the Ardèche, as you can see for yourself in any of its small museums of arts and crafts. And we're not talking hot air – though while we're on the subject, at Annonay, the cradle of the hot-air balloon, you can fly up and away and experience a whole new sensation!
So take a trip to where some unforgettable encounters await you. The Ardèche is a voyage in itself.
A voyage through time first of all, to the very roots of mankind. Two million years ago, underground caves were formed in the Ardèche. Numbering more than a hundred, several of them are open to the public and will delight younger visitors with magical descents to the centre of the earth.
At Soyons, an archaeological site at the heart of the historic village centre forms a living museum recounting 150,000 years of history. At Orgnac, the Regional Prehistory Museum offers a complete overview of prehistory from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age.
Now summon up in your mind's eye the first men creating their magnificent paintings, 30,000 years ago, in the now world-famous Chauvet Cave.
An exhibition at Vallon Pont d'Arc, complete with photos, audiovisual displays and reconstitutions showing a camp, a painter from that period and a stonecutter, takes you on a voyage back to mankind's distant past. Closer to our time, the spirit of the Reformation blew through the Ardèche. Near to Privas, you can find all about that period of history at the birthplace of Pierre and Marie Durand, 18th-century Protestant martyrs.
A voyage to the heart of nature too, where superb landscapes stretch as far as the eye can see.
The unspoiled and majestic Ardèche Gorges impress old and young alike.
This genuine canyon, jealously guarded by the Pont d'Arc natural arch, 66 metres high (217 ft), can be accessed on foot, by canoe or by car.
All along the D290 tourist route, a dozen specially developed vantage points allow you to discover the most beautiful views of the gorges. And if you want to get a little higher, Mont Mézenc (1,753 metres, 5,752 ft), situated at the heart of a volcanic range, offers an easy climb up along a pleasant hiking path and a reward in the form of a breathtaking panorama at the top.
There's also Mont Gerbier de Jonc, 1,550 metres high (5,086 ft). From the top, you can admire the Alps, the Rhone Valley, the Cévennes and the Boutières. The Loire springs from the foot of Mont Gerbier de Jonc – a sight not to be missed!
In the Cévennes, an amazing forest of stone known as “Païolive Woodî forms a natural labyrinth with its 16 square kilometres of bizarre stone formations, sculpted by the wind and weather to resemble bears, lions and other strange shapes.
A refreshing voyage to round off with, to the spectacular Ray-Pic waterfall. A drive down the D215 and a 45-minute stroll along a footpath is how to get there.
The numerous rivers, offering bathing and angling, are another source of fun and amusement, as are Issarlès Lake and its sandy banks, where you can take advantage of all kinds of leisure activities, such as wind-surfing and canoeing, and lakes Coucouron, Saint Martial and Devesset.
Take the time too to pamper yourself in one of the spa centres, at Vals-les-Bains, Neyrac-les-Bains or Saint-Laurent-les-Bains – an opportunity for literally immersing yourself in the volcanic past of the Ardèche.
A genuine holiday, in a nutshell, to savour with a glass of an exquisite Ardèche Côtes du Rhône wine, one of the delicious vins de pays which the Ardèche makes so well, or even a glass of Vals or Arcens spring water, as sparkling as your holiday mood.
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Destination:
Ardèche
