The Ardeche is a land of great contrast and in July 2018, whilst staying in the Gard at Rochegude for a couple of weeks, we made 3 trips on separate days to see a little of what the Ardeche has to offer.
We only scratched the surface of this part of France, but what we saw was just beautiful. On our 3 expeditions, we swam below the Pont du Diable at Thueyts once, canoed beneath the Pont D’Arc twice and three times enjoyed some wonderfully Ardeche food and wine.
Thueyts and Pont du Diable
It was a lovely drive to Thueyts, spectacular scenery en route as the roads wound up the Ardeche gorges. We had chosen Thueyts to visit the Pont du Diable, but on arrival the town looked so interesting that we had to wander.
Part way into the wander, it started to spit with rain, which had to be perfect lunchtime timing – Hotel les Marroniers Restaurant had shelter from the rain and provided a superb lunch.
Thueyts provide good car parking and a number of routes down to the Pont du Diable. We chose to park up in the town and to take a slightly precipitous track down, past wonderful displays of basalt rock formation. There are a number of walks in this area, we chose to walk down, have a wonderful swim under the Pont, and to return the way we had come.
Vallon Pont D’Arc
There are many ways of viewing the Ardeche Gorge, the river and the Pont D’Arc. Tours by coach, car, on foot or by canoe, all will reveal fantastic scenery, but the best is possibly by canoe!!
So we did it twice, but actually it was to accompany two sets of family who joined us during our stay, but the canoe trip was fantastic. There are many places at Vallon to hire canoes. The place we selected rewarded our safe return with glasses of cool Ardeche Rose wine, or a soft drink, ideal.
You start canoeing set from just below the main road bridge in Vallon. You choose the pick up point down river you want – eg we wanted a 4 hour trip, but a range of options are available, and you are then given a time to aim for to get to the pick up point.
It worked well and we set off late morning following some excellent instruction on directions we needed to take on the modest rapids we would encounter. Once we were past the Pont d’Arc, we stopped for a swim, lunch and to enjoy the views.
On the second canoe trip, we actually managed to get stuck on some rocks, which was interesting for a few minutes, then a passing instructor pushed us free and we completed the trip safely.
There is so much to do in the Ardeche and this trip opened our eyes to just a little of what is available. There is so much more to see and do, we will return.
Travels with My Wife 