
Roundtour Ardechoise

This route was brought to you by:
RouteXpert Peter Moerman - RouteXpert
Last edit: 18-06-2021
The first part of the route goes through the Drôme on small winding roads. From Valence the route goes through the northern Ardèche on a beautiful helmsman's road. From Vallon Pont d'Arc you can enjoy the views over the river Ardèche and the surrounding nature.
We have driven this route and variations on it several times ourselves in recent years and enjoy the beautiful and varied surroundings again and again.
It is a long route, partly because of the many viewpoints, so start on time.
I give this route 4 stars because of the attractive surroundings, the many sights and the excellent and challenging roads.
This route is part of a series of routes in this area, all starting from a great motorcycle hotel.
Animation
Verdict
Duration
11h 5m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
390.96 km
Countries


Ardèche
The Drôme department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is bordered by the departments of Ardèche, Isère, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Vaucluse. The canton of Valréas, called Enclave des papes until the French Revolution, belongs to the department of Vaucluse, but is completely surrounded by the department of Drôme.
The department takes its name from the river Drôme, a tributary of the Rhône, with a length of 110 km.
The Ardèche is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and is bordered by the departments of Drôme, Vaucluse, Gard, Lozère, Haute-Loire, Loire and Isère and the nearby Cévennes nature reserve and National Park.
The surface of Ardèche is 5,528.64 km², of which 172,000 hectares are covered with forest (31%). Most famous rivers are the Rhône, the Ardèche (river), the Chassezac and the Doux. There is a lot of natural beauty in Ardèche, such as the Gorges de l'Ardèche with the famous Pont d'Arc at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. Here is also the regional nature park of the Monts d'Ardèche. There are also several caves, such as the Aven d'Orgnac, Grottes de Saint-Marcel and the cave Chauvet.
The route starts and ends at the village of Chalancon at Motovacances Chamauche, a great base for exploring this region. It goes straight up with a few hairpin bends to the Col de Chamauche. The long descent towards Valence starts from the Col, via winding roads and sharp bends. Towards Valence the mountains are getting lower and the roads busier. Just before Valence, a coffee stop is planned at an organic supermarket where they serve excellent coffee and sell delicious delicacies. We leave Valence on the right and continue towards the northern part of the Ardèche, The D633 is one of the most beautiful driving routes in the region, beautiful asphalt and an endless amount of curves take you to the highest part of the Ardèche. At 1404 meters you also reach the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. From here you head towards the southern Ardèche. With sharp hairpin bends you drive to the river Ardèche.
The Ardèche is a river in France that has its source in the department of the same name at an altitude of about 1400 meters in the "Forêt de Mazan". At Pont-Saint-Esprit it flows into the Rhône at an altitude of 50 meters. Between Ruoms and Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, it meanders through the Gorges de l'Ardèche, a canyon hundreds of meters deep with impressive rock formations. Most famous is the Pont d'Arc, an "arch bridge" created by nature over the river, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. In 1994, the Chauvet Cave was discovered in the rock formations of the valley, which contains the oldest petroglyphs known to date. The river crosses the departments of Lozère, Ardèche and Gard. The main tributaries are the Auzon, Ligne, Chassezac, Ibie and Beaume.
The lunch stop is planned in the town of Bayzan and you can refuel a village further. Via Aubenas the route continues towards Vallon Pont d'Darc, where the most beautiful part of the route in terms of nature begins. Here you follow the Gorges de l'Ardèche with beautiful viewpoints in many places. Take the time to stop regularly. It doesn't get any better in terms of appearance. At Pont Saint Esprit, the Ardèche flows into the Rhône. From here it is a bit of a struggle to cross the Rhône valley. This is not the most beautiful stretch of road at the moment, but from Nyons there is a few more kilometers of beautiful asphalt with beautiful keepers between the rocks. Don't forget to fill up your tank at Rémuzat for the next day. From here it is another 17 kilometers uphill to the end of this route where you can enjoy this beautiful route in the evening sun on the terrace.

Ardèche

Le Pont d'Arc
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Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.

Occitanie
About this region
Occitanie (French pronunciation: [ɔksitani] (listen); Occitan: Occitània [utsiˈtanjɔ]; Catalan: Occitània [uksiˈtaniə]), Occitany or Occitania (), is the southernmost administrative region of metropolitan France excluding Corsica, created on 1 January 2016 from the former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. The Council of State approved Occitanie as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, coming into effect on 30 September 2016.The modern administrative region is named after the larger cultural and historical region of Occitania, which corresponds with the southern third of France. The region Occitanie as it is today covers a territory similar to that ruled by the Counts of Toulouse in the 12th and 13th centuries. The banner of arms of the Counts of Toulouse, known colloquially as the Occitan cross, is used by the modern region and is also a popular cultural symbol. In 2015, Occitanie had a population of 5,839,867.
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25 Magnificent trails in France
This MRA route collection contains 25 beautiful motorcycle routes in different parts of France, such as the Ardennes, the Alsace, Vercors, the Drôme, the Ardèche, Cote d'Azure, Gorges du Verdon, the Ariège, the Dordogne and Brittany.
The routes have been carefully created by Bert Loorbach, who is an enthusiastic motorcyclist himself. He lived in France for a year and a half, during which time he devoted himself to mapping the unknown and beautiful back roads of France especially for motorcyclists.
The routes are bundled in the Motortourgids France part 1 of Kosmos publishing house and now also available in MyRouteApp.
I have taken over the routes in MRA and sometimes adjusted them slightly to make them even more interesting for the motorcyclist.
The routes have been carefully created by Bert Loorbach, who is an enthusiastic motorcyclist himself. He lived in France for a year and a half, during which time he devoted himself to mapping the unknown and beautiful back roads of France especially for motorcyclists.
The routes are bundled in the Motortourgids France part 1 of Kosmos publishing house and now also available in MyRouteApp.
I have taken over the routes in MRA and sometimes adjusted them slightly to make them even more interesting for the motorcyclist.
View Route Collection
25 Routes
4106.1 km
106h 0m
24 Magnificent trails in France
It is clear that France is one of the most beautiful and best touring countries. It offers an incredibly varied landscape with good roads and a pleasant climate. It is not for nothing that you see so many motorcyclists there. My previous collection of 25 routes in France (25 Magnificent routes in France) were based on the route descriptions from the Motortourgids France part 1 made by Bert Loorbach.
This collection of 24 routes comes from Motortourgids France part 2. In this collection, a difference has been made between approach routes and motorcycle tours in a certain area. The approach routes can also be used in combination with the routes from Motortourgids France part 1
The routes are sometimes slightly adjusted based on the tips that Bert Loorbach gives in his description, or because of another place to spend the night, or to reach the minimum length of 2 hours for the MRA Library. For each route, the review contains a more detailed description, including options to stay overnight or places of interest along the way, which are also indicated with a POI and if possible with a short description.
Two or more routes have been created for a number of areas, such as for Burgundy, Auvergne, The Alps, Tarn and Cévennes and Nord-Pas de Calais. These routes can be nicely combined in a multi-day trip.
This collection of 24 routes comes from Motortourgids France part 2. In this collection, a difference has been made between approach routes and motorcycle tours in a certain area. The approach routes can also be used in combination with the routes from Motortourgids France part 1
The routes are sometimes slightly adjusted based on the tips that Bert Loorbach gives in his description, or because of another place to spend the night, or to reach the minimum length of 2 hours for the MRA Library. For each route, the review contains a more detailed description, including options to stay overnight or places of interest along the way, which are also indicated with a POI and if possible with a short description.
Two or more routes have been created for a number of areas, such as for Burgundy, Auvergne, The Alps, Tarn and Cévennes and Nord-Pas de Calais. These routes can be nicely combined in a multi-day trip.
View Route Collection
24 Routes
4639.75 km
99h 56m