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Travel guide
The Ardèche
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September
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Welcome
The Ardèche, in a few days
The Ardèche is first a river that has punched a 54-metre arch through the limestone and carved 32 km of gorges behind it, which you paddle down by canoe with a night on a riverside campsite. It is also the Chauvet cave, whose lions and horses were painted 36,000 years ago.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pont d'Arc free · about 2 hA natural arch 54 metres high and 60 wide; see it from the gorge road viewpoint, from the pebble beaches, or by canoe underneath.
- Afternoon · Chauvet 2 cave replica · 2 to 3 hThe original cave, found in 1994 with over 400 animals painted 36,000 years ago, is closed for good; this replica recreates its walls and gloom.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Grand Hôtel de Lyon€100 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Canoeing the Ardèche gorges · a full dayThirty-two kilometres under 300-metre cliffs with no roads, grade 2 rapids and vultures; in one day, or with a night at Gaud or Gournier.
- Afternoon · Aven d'Orgnac · 2 to 3 hA cave system explored in 1935, with 50-metre-high chambers and stacked-plate stalagmites; the guided visit goes 121 metres down and a lift brings you back.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Château de Balazuc€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Bois de Païolive free · about 1 h 30A 16 km² maze of water-worn limestone shaped like animals and towers, under oak and box, with trails to viewpoints over the Chassezac canyon.
- Afternoon · Balazuc free · about 1 h 30A cliff village above a river bend, among France's most beautiful villages, with a Romanesque church, covered passages and a pebble beach for calm swimming.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Manoir du Raveyron€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Ray-Pic waterfall free · about 1 h 30The Bourges drops in two leaps, the main one 35 metres, into a bowl of black basalt columns left by an ancient lava flow.
- Afternoon · Mont Gerbier de Jonc free · about 1 hA 1,551-metre sugarloaf of volcanic rock where the Loire rises; a steep half-hour climb gives views to the Mézenc and, on clear days, the Alps.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Vanséen€95 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/ardeche
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.