Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Commune
Coat of arms
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Coordinates: 44°24′28″N 4°23′40″E / 44.4078°N 4.3944°E / 44.4078; 4.3944Coordinates: 44°24′28″N 4°23′40″E / 44.4078°N 4.3944°E / 44.4078; 4.3944
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ardèche
Arrondissement	Largentière
Canton	Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Pierre Peschier (DVD)
Area1	28.62 km2 (11.05 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	2,343
• Density	82/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	07330 /07150
Elevation	60–434 m (197–1,424 ft) (avg. 118 m or 387 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (occitan: Valon) is a commune in the Ardèche department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southern France.

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is a capital of prehistoric and cultural tourism. This small village, peaceful in wintertime, sees its population expand ten-fold in summer. Its tourist importance largely comes from the fact that it is the departure point for the river descent of the Gorges de l'Ardèche (from Pont d'Arc to Saint-Martin-d'Ardeche).

Geography

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is situated at the threshold of one of the most beautiful tourist sites of France: "les gorges de l'Ardèche" (the Ardèche canyon). The famous Pont d'Arc, a natural arch of more than 30 metres height, carved out by the Ardèche and classified as a Great Site of France, gave it its name.

1.8 km (1.1 mi) southeast of the village, the River Ibie flows into the Ardèche, which forms all of the commune's southwestern border.

History

• 1801: Saint-Martin-d'Arc renamed to Chames
• 1825: Chames renamed to Vallon
• 1948: Vallon becomes Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (25 September

Administration

Population

Sights

Ardèche River in Vallon-Pont d'Arc

• The Pont d'Arc
• The Chauvet Cave is not open to the public. An exposition site, copied from the cave, is open to the public so they can discover the oldest paleolithic paintings - 32.000 B.C. - and the lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon man.
• The museum of the Chauvet Cave
• The town hall (a castle constructed in 1639 under Louis XIII) houses seven tapestries from Aubusson, showing the crusades, exhibited in the Hall of Honour
• The Gorges de l'Ardèche
• The Gorges de l'Archèche National Park
• Android tourism guide
• Domaine de Segries (the PGL camp base for the Ardeche

Events

The village is very lively, especially in summer, with in its centre numerous shops and a market on Thursday and on Tuesday evening, which is known for its large success. Every summer, many events are organized: the lavender feast and the olive feast, prehistoric days with expositions, ateliers, conferences and presentations lasting for over a week after August 15.

Personalities

• Deceased in 1971 the painter René Aberlenc

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vallon-Pont-d'Arc.

• Communes of the Ardèche department

References

• INSEE