You find yourself wondering why you don’t know more about this elegant city
This 3-hectare site has lime trees, lawns and fountains and the romantic Kiosk de Peynet. With views across to the Vercours and Ardèche mountains and the old ruins of Castle Crussol, it’s a captivating start and has access to one of the city’s eight parks, the Jouvet Park. With the impressive line of 19th century façades bordering the Champ du Mars you find yourself wondering why you don’t know more about this elegant city.
From the wide Boulevard du Général de Gaulle head into the narrow back streets where you’ll find a melting pot of archi-tecture and intriguing pockets of interest. This city was on the pilgrims’ trail and the cathedral (built and rebuilt in the 11th, 17th and 19th centuries) has a special ambul-atory for pilgrims and monument to Pope Pius VI, who died in Valence. Then there’s the Maison des Têtes, a 16th century house built on the cusp of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance and covered in sculpted heads representing wind, wealth and time, as well as theology, law and medicine. And there’s the Pendentif which, built in 1548, broke new architectural ground with its spherical triangles.
In fact, almost every twist and turn in the narrow streets of Valence reveals something intriguing, from narrow steps in the city walls to art galleries (the city has an impressive collection) to three Michelin starred restaurants. There’s even an Armenian centre here and the different architecture seems to sway gently through the centuries.
A bite of Valance
Valence has food and the gourmand at its heart. In every boulangerie you’ll find a local speciality: the Suisse and the Pogne. The Suisse is shaped and decorated as a Swiss soldier in honour of Pope Pius’ guards, it's a sort of orange blossom flavoured brioche while the Pogne is a rounded brioche.