Ardeche in France - and the Pont d'Arc

In the Ardeche region of France, you'll find unparalleled scenery with a dramatic canyon, a long river with crystal clear water and intensely green forests. There are also lots of deep caves, some of which are home to 36,000-year-old paintings. We tried gliding down the long river in a canoe and fell in love. We want to go back!

Innehållsförteckning

To Pont d'Arc in Ardeche

After visiting in Sainte-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume and the failed attempt to stop in Aix-en-Provence, we continued to Pont d'Arc in Ardeche.

The last bit we drove along the Route Touristique des Gorges de l'Ardèche. Wow! This road runs along a canyon that is somewhat reminiscent of the Gorges du Verdon. It's really quite magically beautiful to drive here. As well as the breathtaking views, you drive through a series of dramatic little tunnels.

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Gorges de l'Ardèche

The Ardeche canyon in France is breathtakingly beautiful with its dramatic mountainsides, intense greenery and the river's clear waters. According to English-language Wikipedia, the area attracts over a million visitors a year, many of whom choose to glide along the river's waters in colourful kayaks.

We stopped at one viewpoint after another. Sometimes we only got a hundred metres before it was time to stop again ...

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Caves in Ardeche

Ardeche is full of caves, and seven of them are open to tourists. We visited a cave called Grotte de la Madeleine. This cave is full of large stalagtites and stalagmites in a reddish-brown colour, and in all sorts of imaginative shapes. The cave has also been found to contain the bones of various animals.

Cave paintings in Caverne du Pont d'Arc

In 1994, the Chauvet cave was discovered, with some of the the world's oldest paintings. The cave paintings here are 36,000 years old (!). How hard is that to imagine ...? As well as being a staggering number of years old, the pictures are supposed to be very well made and vibrant.

The real cave is not open to the public because human breath destroys the paintings over time. Instead, a huge amount of money has been spent on building a replica of the cave and paintings. We drove here at lunchtime, and were told that the next available tour was at 18:30, and we couldn't wait that long... So if you want to visit the centre in high season, it's a good idea to book in advance!

Ardeche caverne — I Caverne du Pont d'Arc

Canoeing in Ardeche

However, we did manage a canoe trip! We booked the trip through our campsite, which also rented out canoes. They drove us upstream eight kilometres and then we paddled back to the campsite. This was a fantastic trip! The water is crystal clear and the nature is stunningly beautiful.

For the most part, the water is calm and in some places it is lightly flowing. In the places where it was most crowded, people stood and guided the right way to get there without problems. Everywhere we also saw people swimming and children jumping from rocks.

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The Pont d'Arc natural arch

One of the most spectacular natural formations is the natural stone arch called Pont d'Arc, located near the village of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. The arch is 60 metres wide and 54 metres high, and is clearly visible from the road. What's more, when you're kayaking, you're paddling right under it!

Our film from "Ardech"

Here you can watch a film from Ardeche, edited by Peter.

Campsites in Ardeche

There are indeed lots of campsites in Ardeche. We went to the Camping Midiwho had a pitch available for us when we arrived. The campsite is right next to Pont d'Arc and has its own beach down to the river. They also rent out kayaks here.

Flod Ardeche vid Pont d'Arc — The campsite's own view of the riverside location

Kanot Ardeche i Frankrike nära Pont d'Arc — The beach at camping Midi

The atmosphere at the campsite was great with a mixture of motorhomes and young people camping with military tents, storm kitchens, hammocks and small camper vans. It was not easy to get into our spot, but a whole bunch of French youngsters helped us by moving cars, waving and beckoning. One of them actually spoke perfect Swedish - after studying Swedish for a year in Stockholm to become an interpreter!