Vallon Pont d’Arc lies in the valley of the southern Ardèche. The main attractions of the municipality are the Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc and the 60-metre-high rock arch of the Pont d’Arc. Like many villages and communities in this region, Vallon Pont d’Arc became Protestant during the Reformation and suffered during the French Wars of Religion. One reminder of those times is the present town hall, which the Catholic ruler Louis XIII had the inhabitants build in 1628 as a punishment. The magnificent building stands opposite the Café du Nord on the Place de la Résistance, which offers its guests free WiFi on request in addition to typical regional cuisine.
Anyone strolling through the lanes of Vallon Pont d’Arc will find a rich choice of fashion, accessories, wines from the local wine-growing region Côtes du Vivarais, soaps, oils, lavender, chestnut cream and all kinds of other souvenirs.
More charming cafés, restaurants and bars can be found by visitors on the Place du Verger, where the weekly market takes place every Thursday morning.
The Chauvet Cave is also called the Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age because of its prehistoric paintings and drawings. It is accessible only to scientists, as the unique cave art would be irretrievably lost through light, air and warmth. Since 25 April 2015, the world’s largest replica of a painted cave, the Grotte Chauvet 2 Ardèche, has allowed you to discover humanity’s earliest masterpiece.
More information on Grotte Chauvet 2 Ardèche | UNESCO.
Vallon Pont d’Arc is the starting point for water sports (swimming, diving, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, canyoning), because the 30 km long Ardèche gorge begins here (Gorges de l’Ardèche). If you drive through this typical southern French town in the summer months, your eye is drawn everywhere to the brightly coloured plastic canoes and kayaks lined up in front of the “canoe rentals” (e.g. https://www.canoe-ardeche.com/ ), which invite groups and families keen on water sports to an excursion into the Ardèche gorge with its 300-metre limestone cliffs. Those who prefer less activity can watch this sporting spectacle in peace from above. If you stop at the restaurant Le Bistrot Cayou , right by the bridge over the Ardèche, you have a wonderful panoramic view of the river from the large terrace. With a glass of pastis or a cool local white wine, you can admire expert kayakers in their artful dance on the rapids of the white-water river and take in the colourful chains of canoe-hire customers with their committed occupants. It is not uncommon for a clumsy paddle stroke to turn a canoe sideways in a rapid, inviting those behind to daredevil evasive manoeuvres. The neatly lined-up chains of yellow, red, blue or green canoes break up. Commands are shouted to fellow paddlers in all languages and frantic turning manoeuvres are carried out. Some thus slide backwards into the rapid, others prefer to lay their supposedly unsinkable plastic canoes on their side. It is not the finest behaviour but certainly human that some less sporty onlookers enjoy this show from this shady viewpoint. Some even place bets on which canoe will be the first to send its occupants into the cool water.
Shopping and supermarkets
Vallon Pont d’Arc is only about 9 kilometres from the holiday home. For larger grocery shopping, the big supermarkets are the best choice. At the roundabout after the bridge, before Vallon, take the bypass to the left towards Ruoms. At the next roundabout, turn right towards the centre of Vallon for the “Intermarché” supermarket, or continue left towards Ruoms for the Lidl, and then after about 7 kilometres, at the entrance to Ruoms by the roundabout, the large “Super U” supermarket (highly recommended, wide choice, everything very fresh, a lovely clean fish counter).
Intermarché on the edge of Vallon Pont d’Arc. On the outside wall to the right of the entrance there is also a cash machine.
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Lidl towards Ruoms
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