Historic centre of Vallon Pont d'Arc

Historic site and monument in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, Ardèche

Opening : All year round, daily.

The commune of Vallon Pont d'Arc, in the southern Ardèche, boasts an exceptional natural and cultural heritage. The village boasts treasures such as the Château-Mairie, the Place Couverte, the old quarters and the Chatelas.

The Town Hall (a château built between 1630 and 1639 under Louis XIII) houses seven Aubusson tapestries depicting the Crusades, on display in the main hall. The château, acquired by the Merle de Lagorce family in 1748, was bought by the commune of Vallon in 1847 for 42,000 francs.
The covered square, Place de la halle aux grains, is the oldest square in Vallon.
The church of Saint Saturnin: according to tradition, a lord returning from the First Crusade had a chapel dedicated to Saint Saturnin built on a hill overlooking the oak-covered plain of Vallon. At the end of the Hundred Years' War, the inhabitants of old Vallons settled around this chapel. The chapel was replaced by a Romanesque church, which was partly destroyed by Protestants at the start of the Wars of Religion. The practice of the Catholic religion was interrupted for 61 years, from 1560 to 1621, until the intervention of Henri II de Montmorency's Catholic troops. Until the early 19th century, the church was surrounded by its own cemetery. In the mid-19th century, with the Catholic population growing, the town council had the present church built between 1862 and 1866, partly on the foundations of the old one.
The Protestant church and its organ were inaugurated on 11 and 12 July 1998. A first church existed between 1601 and 1629 in another part of the town. The present church was completed in 1823. At the time, it was surrounded by orchards and vineyards. The opulent buildings surrounding it date from the mid-19th century.