The Drôme, between the Vercors and Provence
The Drôme is situated between the Vercors and Provence and perhaps contains the most evocative and representative landscapes, but let’s take this a little further.
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the Drôme
Royans - Vercors
This is where the mountains start, and with them that independent spirit for which their inhabitants are renowned. The wind of freedom blows on the plateau, dearly payed for during the Second World War.
The roads hewn from the living rock, as at the Combe Laval seem to reach the sky.
There are mid-altitude resorts for the whole family, winter and summer; the same applies to the Vercors Regional Natural Park, a paradise for its remarkable flora and fauna.
The Drôme Valley and Diois
It is here, along the banks of the river Drôme that the Dauphiné and Provence really meet.
Once you have passed Crest and its keep (the highest keep in France), the Diois, land of shepherds and vineyards (those of the sparkling Clairette de Die), opens before you in an outstanding natural environment, offering a thousand and one possibilities for lovers of open-air activities: canoeing, mountain-biking, parapente, horse riding and, of course, thousands of footpaths with an open invitation for ramblers.
The Drôme des Collines
A horizon of shades of green, shaped in round and soft forms ; houses built with river pebbles; a landscape crossed by streams and covered in white and rose-coloured orchards in spring.
On the East bank of the Rhône, the vineyards of the renowned Hermitage cover the hillsides.
Hauterives, Saint-Donat, Romans and Tain l'Hermitage are obligatory stops.
Drôme Provençale
This is a land devoted to the five senses; the accent is already that of Mistral and Pagnol. Olives, lavender, grapes (Côtes du Rhône, Grignan-les-Adhémar and Vinsobres), truffles, nougat and apricots make of that area a land of delicacy which is very difficult to resist.
From Montélimar to Buis-les-Baronnies, by way of Dieulefit, Nyons and Grignan, Provence, unexpectedly, awaits.
Valence - Romans
The "fiancée of the Rhône", on the holiday route to the South, offers a pleasant fore-taste of the Midi, and is worth a stop: amble down its pedestrianised streets in search of the memory of the young artillery lieutenant, Napoléone Buonaparte: tarry awhile in front of the sculpted elevation of the Maison des Têtes; drink tasteful-colourful-aromatic cocktails of a Saturday morning on the "marché provençal" in the place des Clercs; and to conclude, a romantic pose under the music kiosk where one day in 1942 Peynet glimpsed a couple of lovers who, with a stroke of his crayon, and bearing the names Valentin and Valentine, were to become the symbol of lovers everywhere.
The Rhone Valley
Majestic and wild, the Rhône is one of Europe’s main waterways and France’s most impressive river. Forming a natural boundary with the Ardèche, the Rhône traverses the entire Drôme département from North to South, following, as it does so, Europe’s greatest North-South axis …. The Holiday Road!
Envie de Drôme
The Drôme, where the Alps and Provence meet; capturing a foretaste of the warmth and perfume of the latter.
Culture is everywhere present from châteaux to palaces such as the Facteur Cheval¹s ideal palace, music and theatrical festivals to craft specialists working in well conserved old villages.
Here nature has kept some of its rights, offering an infinite number of itineraries along which many sporting activities can be practised.
And on the colourful markets, local produce gives a foretaste of Drôme cooking, not forgetting the high quality wines which enjoy a legendary reputation.
Visit the Palais Idéal du facteur Cheval
Swimming in the Drôme'rivers
The starred Chefs
The specialities of the Drôme
Regional Nature Park
