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TRIP REPORT : The Auvergne and Languedoc, June 2022
After a two-year Covid-imposed hiatus, my wife and I finally made it to France this summer for a much needed and long overdue 3 week holiday. The Auvergne (1 week) and Languedoc (2 weeks) have been on our minds for some years now - the fact that they are off the mainstream tourist radar is the real draw. I’m not entirely sure even the French know the Auvergne exists! In the Languedoc as well, I don’t think we came across any foreign tourists until we got to Montpellier. We usually visit France in May or September, so generally have succeeded in avoiding the tourist hordes even in places like Provence. Experiencing peace and quiet June, even when the season supposedly kicks in, was a welcome surprise.
Our French (despite Duolingo refreshers!) is quite embarrassing and it's interesting that English was widely spoken or at least reasonably understood even in the remotest places, so we had no problems at all. The locals (and our hotel / B&B hosts) were friendly and welcoming, and often took us to be Spanish (I don’t think they’ve had many Indians before!). I’m not very good with trip reports, but thought this trip warranted one because (1) there haven’t been many and (2) information (including internet resources) about these regions is somewhat light relative to others. My trip is by no means an exhaustive itinerary for these (vast) regions, but a reflection of our preferences and choices we made amongst the zillion things to see and do. I’ll try and post every few days, so please bear with me – am catching up on a fair backlog of work! |
Day 1 : CLERMONT FERRAND
We arrived into Paris and took an Intercity train from Paris Bercy to Clermont. We chose Emirates as it was the only airline offering the only “truly” flexible /cancellable fare from Mumbai when we booked. Airfares were jaw-droppingly high – and I hope they taper as travel normalises and geopolitical tensions end.
Why Clermont ? As the largest city in the Auvergne, it was the only viable place to get an automatic car (I avoid manuals, as it’s the wrong side of the road for us and prefer to minimise driving stress), so it made for the most logical starting point of our driving itinerary. I wasn’t expecting much, but we found the historic centre interesting and we spent most of the evening in and around Place Jaude before calling it a night. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fbb8f0ef21.jpg Place Jaude https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8de6f1863c.jpg Streets of Clermont Ferrand (Puy de Dome pops its head in the background) https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7f0fda2492.jpg Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Clermont-Ferrand https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...16e5081cc8.jpg A Hawaiin poke bowl craze has taken over France (like the gourmet burger craze some years ago?), anyway we enjoyed our vegetarian dinner at Pokawa that night |
On board for the ride, very interesting!
Labandula |
Day 2 : Onwards to Mont Dore
After a good night’s rest, we set off next morning for the Clermont Ferrand airport to pick up rental car from Hertz. We had booked via AutoEurope and Hertz and Sixt were the only frontline agencies with automatics. I’ve often used Europcar, but they seem AWOL - unusual for France. Covid has impacted the rental business adversely, we got a car with >80000 kms on the odometer and multiple dents and scratches. And we paid more than double the rates we normally do in France. However, I was just relieved we got an automatic car that worked and had inbuilt GPS!
Our first stop was Puy de Dome. Unfortunately, the weather played spoilsport, so between the rain and fog, we had very poor visibility. We're usually very lucky with the weather – my wife reminded me that even on the Isle of Skye (yes, you read that correctly) we’ve had clear days and fine weather, so this is a (disappointing) first for us ! We still took the panoramic train to the summit, as it wasn’t expected to get much better next few days. The museum near the ruins of the Temple of Mercury was quite interesting, but missed out on the sweeping views across the chain of volcanoes. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e56d010142.jpg Boarding the panoramic train to Puy de Dome https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b2abcc22a8.jpg Exhibit at the museum of near Temple of Mercury https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6f34913888.jpg Dense fog at the summit (sigh!) We then drove onwards to visit Orcival, a little town with a charming church. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f2c24a9a06.jpg Maison du Chocolat in Orcival https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8d0b2476cd.jpg Strolling the streets of Orcival, church in background En route we stopped at the Pont de Vue at Col de Guery. The Roche Tuillière (1288m) and Roche Sanadoire (1286m) are extinct volcanoes and look like mirror images with the valley floor separating them - this is one of the most photographed views in the Sancy. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7e6123190.jpg Point de vue Roches Tuilière et Sanadoire We reached Mont Dore by evening. Mont Dore is a ski and spa resort town with not much to see in itself, but makes a good base (with enough accomodation and dining choices) for exploring the area. We strolled around the town, got ourselves dinner and crashed back at our hotel. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ed55b1c1cd.jpg Thermes du Mont Dore - thermal spa in Mont Dore https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3733a970cc.jpg Attractive square in Mont Dore https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e37df85cad.jpg View from our hotel window |
I’ll be joining you! Great start.
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Thanks Anuj, am along for the ride! DH and I visited Auvergne in the mid eighties and loved it, though we haven’t considered going back. However, Languedoc is most certainly on my list, to be combined with Bordeaux and Dordogne maybe, so am eagerly looking forward to your TR.
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Nice to see a report on the Auvergne area, as you are right that it is generally overlooked. It is a shame about the fog at Puy de Dome. We visited 3 years or so ago in June and had pretty good weather-not perfect but got a bit more visibility.
I will be excited to hear more and am especially interested to where you are visiting in the Languedoc as well as we will spending time there in the fall. Also interesting hear your experience with the rental cars since they have been heavily impacted in the US and I was wondering if France was also feeling the effect on availability and pricing. |
Nice to see a report on the Auvergne area, as you are right that it is generally overlooked--Jpie nailed it.
Thanks for this ANUJ! I am done. the end |
Looking forward to more of your report. We enjoyed Languedoc!
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Looking forward to more of your report. We enjoyed Languedoc!
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Looking forward to more of your report as this is one area in France we have not visited. Car rental rates in Avignon last summer seemed to be about double what we usually pay but when we looked at rates in Italy they were much higher!
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Wow! So interesting that you spent a night in Clermont Ferrand. My daughter's in-laws live in CF, and several years ago they invited us to spend a few nights with them. They organized a guided walking tour of the historic city center, a cheese tasting, and we did walk partially up to Puy de Dome.
During the summer of 2021, we also spent a few days in the Languedoc. We spent 2 or 3 nights in Saint-Jean-de-Bueges, and we visited St. Guilhem le Desert. It is a beautiful region of France. We also spent a night in Carcassone and loved the medieval citadel. |
Signing up, Anuj. Great to read about less reported on places.
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Day 3 : Mont Dore : Auvergne drive and short hike
We set off next morning to explore the surrounding area by car. The views are sweeping and expansive, so photos don’t do them justice.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2b887772ba.jpg Undulating volcanic landscapes in Auvergne's green heart Our first stop was the town of Murol, overseen by its imposing 12th century chateau. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ecf14536ab.jpg Chateau de Murol https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a10d3fc48b.jpg Valley view from chateau grounds https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d6c144010e.jpg Murol view from chateau grounds Next stop : Saint Nectaire. The view of the town and its charming 12 century Romanesque church as you approach from the north is breath-taking. St Nectaire is famous for its eponymous cheese, which we sampled at a local fromagerie and a nearby farm Ferme des Lambres. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c2860b2e3.jpg Aerial view of St Nectaire https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c5e09dae02.jpg Ferme de Lambres store https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...919dbb2fc8.jpg Ferme de Lambres pastures We then turned south to visit Besse et Saint Anastaise (or simply Besse), and interesting medieval town. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a010c3e7bc.jpg Entry gate at Besse https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ff05239c9e.jpg Water fountain in Besse A short rest break and picnic on the shores of Lac Pavin, a crater lake. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...06f4875318.jpg Lac Pavin And finally returned by the panoramic and winding D36 back to Mont Dore soaking in some fine views of the Vallée de Chaudfour along the way. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...015818a8da.jpg Views along the D36 back to Le Mont Dore We had hoped to visit Puy Sancy but unfortunately the cablecar was out of service for maintenance and we didn't have enough time for the alternate hiking route. Instead, we spent the evening hiking Mont Capucin. You can do this by a funicular originating from Mont Dore itself (we drove up instead), followed by a walk through (dense) forest and trekking along some (fairly steep) slopes. Walking through this forest is an age-old tradition here and considered therapeutic (like forest bathing "shirin-yoku" in Japan?), I don't know if it was the trees or sheer fatigue, but we got a great night's sleep after! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29d2f843aa.jpg Victory, after some very steep slopes! |
Thank you for all your encouraging responses. This forum has been an invaluable source of information to me over the years for my travels, so am trying to reciprocate in some small measure.
Rookie mistake : I missed tagging this report (damn!) for France (so its floating around the general Europe forum). I've written to [email protected] to correct this. hopefully our helpful moderators will sort this out soon. |
Tag added. (Note, there is no separate forum for France, but someone searching for France will now see it.)
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ANUJ, you're a delightful writer and you have a good attitude toward the vagaries of travel. Things don't always go according to plan, and when that happens to us we say to each other, So what? We're in France. What could be better?
I'm looking forward to reading more. |
So you didn't visit Vulcania, the volcanic scientific park?
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Thanks, Coquelicot.
kerouac, no we didn't visit Vulcania, it wasn't of interest. However, our Puy Mary experience (yet to follow in my trip report), compensated for our Puy de Dome and Puy Sancy misses. |
You did have a bit of luck with your dented rental car. We had one like that years ago. Our added dents were undetectable, saving us damage claims.
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Your report brought back memories for me. We stayed in the Puy de Dome department for a week in 2018 and visited most of the places you mentioned. We were lucky the day we took the train up Puy de Dome as it was clear but very windy. We also stayed near Salers in the Cantal in 2016 and climbed Puy Mary. Once again we were lucky to have a clear day. You can read my reports on our stays if you click on my name.
You are correct when you say the Auvergne is often overlooked by tourists. We have been lucky enough to stay in all four departments - Cantal, Puy de Dome, Haute Loire and Allier - and had another week booked in the Allier in 2020. We all know what happened there. It is a beautiful region well worth considering. Looking forward to following your report. |
AJPeabody, the condition of the car did make me nervous. However, upon pickup Hertz emailed me their own (existing) damages /inspection report which was quite detailed. Of course, this doesnt preclude foul play later. On return, the Hertz staff at Montpellier airport personally inspected the car and confirmed no additional damage, which was a relief. So Hertz played fair.
rhon, glad to see you here. Your "country roads in France" TRs have been very helpful prior reads for my trips including this one. |
Day 4 : SALERS AND PUY MARY HIKE
The next morning we left for Salers. Maybe it was the rarefied mountain air taking a toll on my GPS, but it went bonkers at some point and detoured me through the most treacherous, cliffside, densely forested, single track route I've ever driven in France.
I was relieved to reach Salers, our home for the next 2 nights. After a quick refresh and light lunch, we set off to climb Puy Mary (1787m), an extinct volcano, regarded as the most beautiful hike in the Cantal. We parked (€4 parking sticker, the hiking trail is free) just outside the Maison De Site at Pas du Peyrol. The hike is physically challenging and steep, but has a well-maintained stairway (To heaven? Is this what inspired Led Zepellin?) carved directly out of the rock. The vistas are spectacular, and we did this slowly to absorb it all and catch our breath (frequently). It's tough, but very rewarding. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...319196f83e.jpg At the base of Puy Mary https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5559faabf0.jpg Looking down, from half-way up! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3223622a25.jpg Views from Puy Mary (brought back memories of the Quiraing in Isle of Skye, Scotland) https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...652468a9e7.jpg Near the summit https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...936df35266.jpg Back at the base of Puy Mary, by the cafe After this we returned to Salers tired and hungry, lounged around our hotel patio and nearby belvedere, before dinner and calling it a night. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...be846eb6ae.jpg Lounge chairs with a view! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...043b117522.jpg Views of valley near Salers . |
Day 5 : SALERS
Yesterday's shenanigans left us little energy to explore Salers itself, so we finally got to that this morning! Salers is an absolutely gorgeous, unspolit (albeit very quiet) village, listed amongst the Les Plus Beaux Villages of France.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3a6df3d361.jpg Old gates https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...41225f0b03.jpg Old gates https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0678189c60.jpg Distinctive Salers roofs of dark lavastone https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e631db8dd2.jpg Old mansions https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b0bad0e8fc.jpg Main square https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c74b1cb49a.jpg Streets of Salers, church of St Mathieu peeking through We visited a few nearby towns later that day. Salers is very proud of its cows (the tourist office even recommended two cow museums to visit!). https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3bbcf9c16.jpg Salers cow posing for my camera! The little chapel of Sant Michel in Fontagnes carved out of the rock made for an interesting stop. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9be2def218.jpg Outside https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...63da93c6a8.jpg Inside! Tournemire is another "les plus beaux" village nearby, with a (private) chateau (we didn't enter the chateau). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb68991a54.jpg Views from Tornemire https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...abe52e92f1.jpg Chateau d'Anjony in Tournemire https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...21869eae75.jpg Rooftops in Tournemire One of our best meals in the Auvergne (and we're vegetarian!) was in Salers, so the wonderful restaurant La Poterne deserves a specific mention (and a photo!). https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dcdec03df1.jpg La Poterne |
More memories. Yes, Salers is beautiful. We really enjoyed visiting the Cantal. Maybe I did not do so badly climbing Puy Mary as a mid sixties not terribly fit grandma!!
This really makes me want to return to France. |
Fabulous report with photos. Thank you
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Enjoying your travels, too!
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I climbed the Puy Mary once. Once was enough.
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Wow, you really hit some of the great places in Auvergne: Orcival, Murol, Salers, Anjony.... your photos capture the unique beauty of Auvergne. I really enjoyed seeing the photo of that little chapel, so classicaly Auvergnate with the dazzling deep green punctuated by the dark ash of the stone.
The French know all about Auvergne, "La France Profonde." They might be stumped by La Theirache, but not Auvergne. As where other regions of France somewhat resemble neighboring lands, Auvergne has its own unique landscape. As you drive form Auverge to Languedoc, there is a dramatic shift in the scenery. I once leased a brand new Peugeot with just one tiny problem... the gas cap wouldn't open! It's amazing how something so little can be so significant. We had to take it to the a dealership immediately. The dents and mileage on your car probably indicates no problem with the gas cap. |
I would love to hear more about your experiences as vegetarians traveling "off the beaten path" in France. Did you find it difficult to find interesting choices?
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jpie, we've managed to eat well in France, even remoter areas. Given the amount of information now available on the internet, I usually research restaurants/review menus etc so have a "shortlist" of choices before we go. This avoids disappointments. Whenever we've stayed in apartments with kitchen facilities, we often self-cater. There will be a few occasions where you're eating more pizzas or salads than you'd hoped to, but we're not fussy.
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Great job thus far and I'm looking forward to the rest. It is a pity that the weather didn't cooperate earlier in the trip. I've seen the Puy de Dome featured in a French documentary program, and the views must be spectacular. I've only touched down in Clermont-Ferrand, though some odd connecting flight I took on a not-very-big aircraft. But it was a memorable flight -- the area is just dotted with alien-looking volcanic shapes and is quite spectacular from the air.
Looking forward to the rest of the report. And some much delicious cheese in the region (and the land of aligot and truffade) |
Day 6 : LE PUY EN VELAY
We bid goodbye to Salers and set off early for the long drive to Le Puy. A vintage car event drew our attention in Murat en route.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6861352d36.jpg Murat, overlooked by the statue of Mary https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7abe0e1e80.jpg An interesting exhibit at the vintage car event, and the smallest motorable car I've ever seen ! We made an unplanned stop at the pretty les plus beaux village of Polignac, drawn by this view of its chateau. Like Orvieto, sitting on the tufa rock? https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b02c16c928.jpg Fortress of Polignac Our first views of Le Puy as we approached blew our socks off, so we knew something special awaited us. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e8c15bde1d.jpg Le Puy emerges in the distance Le Puy is one of the most fascinating cities we've seen in all of France. Its surprisingly under-visited (I'm not complaining) - glad we had enough time to explore every delightful nook and cranny (and stayed overnight too). No words can adequately describe the splendor of Le Puy, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking. We visited the imposing Cathedrale Notre Dame set in the heart of Le Puy, at its highest point. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0ef785691e.jpg View of cathedral https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f86e1373c2.jpg Streetview from top of the 60 steps leading upto the porch https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9124a17614.jpg Inside The towering Statue Notre Dame de France (fun fact : it was made in 1860 from metal obtained by melting 213 cannons captured from the Russians during the Crimean War!) is visible from everywhere. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6b1dff1120.jpg The statue The Chapelle Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe is perched, almost miraculously, on a volcanic rock outcrop on which it was built in 961. It's an awe-inspiring sight (conjures up images of Meteora.,Greece). It can be reached by climbing 268 steps carved directly into the rock (enough landings along the way to stop and catch your breath, some even with benches). The views from the top of the rock are glorious. My wife and I spent a fair amount of time seated inside the little chapel, in quiet contemplation - it's a very moving experience. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e1cd73db81.jpg View from street, as you approach https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ae39a0f147.jpg Inside https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc0c7424b4.jpg Inside https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e1ba7c8b53.jpg The chapel itself https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ffe57ea0e.jpg Views from the top https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8ae85bd93f.jpg Views from the top https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6c5040cac6.jpg Views from the top Anywhere you care to look in Le Puy's historic centre presents a photo-opportunity, here are a few. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...57a23dd392.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8b470f75fb.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...099a0fae6b.jpg |
That really does look a charming town.
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I've been to Le Puy 3 times and am always looking for reasons to return. I thought the climb to Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe looked deadly the first time, but it really isn't difficult at all. 268 steps is not all that many compared to a lot of other places. Just to compare with Mont Saint Michel, it is 200 from sea level the the entrance of the abbey and then another 150 inside the abbey. In Montmartre, the people who decide to walk up the stairs next to the funicular already have 222 stairs there, and they are not at all up at Sacré Coeur yet.
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I remember standing looking out the door of the cathedral and imagining how pilgrims who stood there must have felt as they began their journey. I agree that the walk up to the chapel looks daunting but was not as bad as we expected. Le Puy is a wonderful place to visit.
Where to next? I am living vicariously through your trip. |
Very interesting report. :tu:
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We passed through Le Puy many years ago. I was impressed at how the statue of the Virgin so closely resembled the Statue of Liberty.
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Day 7 : ONWARDS TO VALLON PONT D'ARC
It's a fair distance as you transition from the Auvergne to the Languedoc, so we planned to break journey mid-way at Vallon Pont D'Arc. I felt this would also give us the opportunity to appreciate the Ardeche and its gorges leisurely.
We visited the pretty Basilica St Joseph d'Espaly, with its imposing statue which had also caught our eye in a suburb of Le Puy, before setting off for Vallon. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8cc19d2660.jpg View of basilica https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e347085e08.jpg The statue https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...84091f7c94.jpg Last glimpses of beautiful Le Puy from the basilica We made a number of short stops along the long drive to Vallon, Stu Dudley's Ardeche note helped us distill these choices. Arlempdes (les plus beaux village) https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0071d2bf3e.jpg Pradelles (les plus beaux village) https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4f648ffbd3.jpg Chapelle Notre Dame https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...71cd02be21.jpg ..and its statue Ruins at Mazzan L'abbaye https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e9ec0ea352.jpg View of the site Vals les Bains, a spa town and home to Glacier Beatrix, regarded as one of the finest ice cream makers in France. An ice cream stop, you ask? Well, in the midst of an unprecedented sweltering heat wave (temps over 35 celsius), this provided much relief! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...187b440723.jpg At Beatrix https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ca6628e30.jpg Volane river, flowing through the town Basalt rock formations along the way to Antraigues-sur-Volane https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3bd3606d1.jpg .... a reminder of the volcanic origins of the terrain Vogue (les plus beaux village) https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e4310e65b7.jpg ... and our final halt, the very interesting little town of Largentiere https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d0beca4c47.jpg View of town https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6d4129e9c6.jpg Looked like a Greek temple, but I understand its their courthouse! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...256818df2a.jpg Entering the town, with its fortifications We reached Vallon Pont D'Arc, and checked into our hotel. Vallon has a very hip, beach-town vibe. We slept early, ahead of another long day of driving to Uzes, our home for the next 3 nights. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...96fe0a72aa.jpg Strolling around Vallon Pont D'Arc |
Day 8 : ONWARDS TO UZES
Next morning, we left Vallon to visit the Pont D’arc, a natural rock bridge arched over the Ardèche river and a popular spot for canoeing and swimming.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1e71ec4594.jpg Pont d'Arc https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66115d091d.jpg Canoeing under the arc https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1981922ec4.jpg View of river and the cliffs We then drove down the winding D290 road between the Pont D’arc and St Martin d’Ardeche, with a number of panoramic look-out points (“belvederes”) along the side of the road (with place to pull up and park). https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d624b8391a.jpg The Serre de Tourre belvedere is popular https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...743da04d9b.jpg The riverbend viewed from Serre de Tourre https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...99a6278210.jpg Balcon Templiers-East https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5b71664fa9.jpg Balcon Templiers-South https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7a210d9d3f.jpg Grand Belvedere, with sweeping views over the gorge with the glittering river in the distance https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e2cd395742.jpg Ranc Pointu, with its beaches We crossed the river to Aigueze, another charming les plus beaux village. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ccf76b09cf.jpg Aigueze https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b923bdb91c.jpg View of the river Ardeche from Aigueze Our next stop was Montclus, where we were greeted with our first lavender field sightings. A breath-taking sight! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f7bb4fed6.jpg Montclus https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5957dd80c6.jpg View of lavender field from Montclus https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...423b842856.jpg Amidst the lavender fields, Montclus in background We tmoved on to the les plus beaux village of La Roque-Sur-Ceze, famous for its nearby cascades - a series of waterfalls formed by Ceze river as it tumbles into cavities in the limestone, also forming waterholes. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7665b7c0bf.jpg Cascades https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f1cb6ad39b.jpg Cascades, with folks pinicing amidst the rocks https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4e8c80a30e.jpg La Roque sur Ceze itself Our final stop was Lussan, another les plus beaux village with its own chateau and sweeping views over nearby lavender fields. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9946236125.jpg Château de Lussan https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7499e36e6.jpg Views from Lussan's walls https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...890b067bfb.jpg Views from Lussan walls, vast lavender fields As we headed to Uzes, my tryst with the GPS continued. I had been instructed by our host Sophie to park at the Gide parking lot, and then proceed to the hotel by foot. As we approached Uzes, the GPS again sent me circling through some backstreets in a residential area just outside the Uzes centre - leading me to a fork where one road had a ROUTE BAREE sign and another read PIETONALE. Thankfully, my wife noticed the pedestrianized street name and realised our hotel ought to be at the end of this street. In the process, we had stumbled upon free parking (white lines 300m from our hotel, we used this all 3 nights!), so some good (and cost savings) came of this after all. We had a short stroll around Uzes, ate early dinner at a restaurant called Ma Cantine (very popular with the locals too, with 2 veggies mains on the menu!) and called it a night. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3128e5715e.jpg Uzes castle https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...203d6bc17f.jpg Beautiful little lanes of Uzes https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0b8a17bce9.jpg Ma Cantine, very friendly (English speaking) host and great food |
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