Southern Ardèche

A stone's throw from the Gîtes de Champagnac, in the middle of the southern Ardèche garrigue and nestled against the limestone walls, is Labeaume (a village only 700 m away on foot), a very pretty stone village classified as a "Village of character".

The breathtaking view from the top of the village and its atypical houses, its church, its country bistro "Le bec fique" and its vaulted passages and cobbled streets, will seduce you.

At the water's edge, this picturesque place with its river and its famous beaches, offers a magnificent setting for swimming or strolling.

Ranked among the "Plus beaux villages de France", just 13 km from the Gîtes de Champagnac, Balazuc is a place in the south of Ardèche that must be visited, also labeled "Village de caractère".

Small once medieval village, clinging to the limestone walls overlooking the Ardèche, with its bridge and sandy beach (swimming), the architectural and historical heritage of Balazuc is rich.

To the delight of lovers of old stones, you will discover a castle, a fortified Romanesque church, three-lobed windows, pointed arch doors, etc.

There are also various craft shops, restaurants, and a natural history museum, the very pretty Muséum de l'Ardèche  !

The history of Vinezac goes back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the presence of many dolmens on its territory today dotted with vineyards.

Classified in 2001 "Village de caractère", Vinezac is an old medieval village with warm and picturesque architecture: roofs of canal tiles, vaulted streets ...

The village is located on the very first reliefs of the Ardèche Cévennes. Between these lands cultivated in the foothills and its forests on the heights, the town offers a varied environment. The walks and hikes are pleasant there.

Home to the Gîtes de Champagnac in southern Ardèche, Saint-Alban-Auriolles is a unique town, born from the merger of two small neighboring municipal areas, Auriolles and St-Alban-sous-Sampzon.
You will therefore find two churches there, that of St-Alban and that of Auriolles, as well as the Alphonse Daudet Museum where you will discover the life and work of the author as well as silkworms (sericulture).
The locality also has the 15th century Beaumefort castle, and around fifty dolmens, the most famous of which is that of the Calvary (listed in the Historic Monuments).

The Pont d'Arc is a natural wonder located shortly after Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in southern Ardèche, at the entrance to the Gorges de l'Ardèche. Listed since 1982, it is, with its 55 meters high and 60 meters wide, the largest natural arch in the world.

In a magical setting, this immense stone arch is the fruit of the incessant work of water, which, for millennia, has dug the limestone rock until it crosses it to gradually form a real natural bridge.

The Pont d'Arc has the particularity of spanning the Ardèche, a river popular with swimmers and canoeists in summer. Leaving from Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, the many canoes passing underneath are amazed. Gateway to the Gorges de l'Ardèche, the descenders are only at the beginning of their wonders.

A true natural labyrinth overlooking the Chassezac, in the southern Ardèche towns of Les Vans, Banne and Berrias-et-Casteljau, this white oak forest dotted with rocks of unusual shapes offers a beautiful natural discovery.

During a walk, here you will enter a world full of mysteries, to be walked along its various hiking trails. Here you will find strange and inimitable rock sculptures born from the work of erosion, which over time has torn and deformed the blocks of limestone present in the wood.