Pont-en-Royans

Pont-en-Royans is a small commune of the Isère, of about 800 inhabitants, at the confluence of the Bourne and the Vernaison, west of the Vercors massif, at the mouth of the Bourne gorges. It is famous for its hanging houses with colourful façades, clinging to the cliff above the river. This architecture, which goes back to the sixteenth century, is explained by the lack of room in the narrow defile and by the timber trade that kept the town alive.

In the nineteenth century, under Napoleon III, Pont-en-Royans gained great fame thanks to the daring roads cut into the limestone across the Vercors, a showcase of French engineering at the exhibitions of the time. Today you can stroll the lanes, see the remains of ramparts and churches from its fortified past, and visit the Water museum, which presents more than 900 bottled waters from around the world. The Choranche caves, with their underground rivers, and the roads of the Bourne gorges are nearby.

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