Deep gorges, a natural arch and hilltop villages: the southern Ardèche is easy to cover in two days.
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
Vogüé and Balazuc, two stone villages clinging above the river, then Saint-Montan.
Driving for the day: about 59.5 km, or 1 h 05 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
Vogüé is a tourist village on the banks of the Ardèche. The village is ranked among the most beautiful villages of France. The castle of the Lords of Vogüé and its four round towers overlook this southern town.
View full page →↓ 8.9 km · about 11 min by car to the next stop
You have to get to the opposite bank of the Ardèche to have enough distance to see this superb village as a whole.
View full page →↓ 50.6 km · about 54 min by car to the next stop
Medieval site from the 5th to the 15th centuries, comprising a very large fortified town, three Romanesque churches, two chapels, a priory and an immense fortress reputed impregnable.
View full page →The Pont d'Arc arch, the Ardèche gorges road and its viewpoints, and the Bois de Païolive, a forest of rocks.
Driving for the day: about 71.6 km, or 1 h 18 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
34 metres high and 59 metres wide at water level, the Pont d'Arc is a superb natural arch in the heart of the Ardèche, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc.
View full page →↓ 20.9 km · about 26 min by car to the next stop
The Ardèche Gorges are in the south of the Ardèche département, stretching about thirty kilometres between the famous Pont d'Arc at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc and Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche.
View full page →↓ 50.6 km · about 52 min by car to the next stop
The Bois de Païolive (holm and downy oaks) is an aged private forest that therefore holds exceptional richness in insects, particularly beetles, for which entomologists and collectors travel from all over Europe.
View full page →Sites are numbered in the recommended order. In summer the river is very busy (canoes): start early, and check conditions before getting on the water.