Valence: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Valence is where the south of France begins: the saying goes that at Valence the Midi starts, and the roofs turn to rounded tiles. Its old town is small and climbs to a cathedral on a terrace over the Rhône. This walk follows the main street up past a Renaissance house, the market square and the cathedral to the museum with the best view in town. About two hours, mostly flat; market mornings are the liveliest.
A short history of Valence
Valence, on the Rhône, was founded as a Roman colony called Valentia, and by the 4th century it was already the seat of a bishop. In the 15th century the Dauphin, later King Louis XI, founded a university there. In 1785 and 1786 a young artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte served in the town. In 1799 Pope Pius VI died in Valence, having been brought here as a prisoner of the army of the French Republic. After the Armenian genocide of 1915 many Armenian refugees settled in the town, and a large Armenian community still lives there. Valence is considered the gateway to the south of France, and the saying 'at Valence the South begins' is used of it.
The ten best sights in Valence
1Maison des TêtesRenaissance façade covered in carved heads; look up before you go in
2Cathédrale Saint-ApollinaireRomanesque cathedral at the top of the old town; free entry
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3Le Pendentif
A strange little Renaissance tomb-chapel beside the cathedral
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4Musée de Valence
Art and archaeology in the old bishop's palace; the top floor has the view
5Centre du Patrimoine ArménienThe Armenian community of Valence and the story of 1915
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6Temple Saint-Ruf
A former abbey church, now a Protestant temple, in the old town
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7Synagogue of Valence
The community's working synagogue in the centre; a place of prayer, not a museum
8Château de CrussolRuined castle on the cliff across the Rhône; the climb takes 20 minutes
9Palais Idéal du Facteur ChevalA postman's stone fantasy palace, 40 minutes north; one of the strangest sights in France
10Musée international de la ChaussureShoes through the ages in a former convent in Romans, 18 km
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Valence →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Valence:
Free walking tours in Valence
Old Valence on foot
Valence is where the south of France begins: the saying goes that at Valence the Midi starts, and the roofs turn to rounded tiles. Its old town is small and climbs to a cathedral on a terrace over the Rhône. This walk follows the main street up past a Renaissance house, the market square and the cathedral to the museum with the best view in town. About two hours, mostly flat; market mornings are the liveliest.
- Grande Rue · Valence was Napoleon Bonaparte's first posting: he arrived in 1785, aged 16, as a junior lieutenant in an artillery regiment, and lodged in a house on this street. Here he read widely, took dancing lessons and first moved in provincial society.
- Maison des Têtes · Antoine de Dorne, a wealthy consul of the town, had this house built around 1530 and covered its front with carved heads — the winds, Time and Fortune among them. It now houses the town's centre for architecture and heritage.
- Place des Clercs market · The stalls sell caillettes, a Drôme meatball of pork and chard or spinach baked in caul fat, and ravioles du Dauphiné, tiny ravioli filled with Comté, fresh cheese and parsley. Ravioles cook in a minute in boiling water — buy a sheet for dinner.
- Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire · Pope Urban II consecrated the cathedral in August 1095, on the journey that ended at Clermont, where he preached the First Crusade. Inside is a monument to Pope Pius VI, who died in Valence in 1799 as a prisoner of the French Republic.
- Le Pendentif · This small square monument of 1548 was the funerary chapel of the canon Nicolas Mistral's family. It gets its name from its vault, which is built in the shape of a pendentive — a curved triangle that normally holds up a dome.
- Musée de Valence · The museum holds one of the world's largest collections of red-chalk drawings by Hubert Robert, the 18th-century painter of ruins, many of them sketched in Rome. From the top-floor window you look across the Rhône to the ruins of Crussol.
Lovers, exiles and chefs
Valence has a soft spot for romance, a large community that arrived as refugees, and a family of cooks known across France. This route links them in a loop south of the old town, from a bandstand on the river terrace to the medieval canals. About three hours with lunch, mostly in parks. End with dinner booked well ahead if you want the famous table.
- Kiosque Peynet · In 1942 the illustrator Raymond Peynet sat facing this bandstand and drew a violinist playing to a girl on a bench. The couple became 'les Amoureux de Peynet', printed on stamps and plates all over France, and the kiosk is now listed as a historic monument.
- Champ de Mars · Like every Champ de Mars, it was named after Mars, the god of war, as the parade ground of a garrison town. Today it is a long terrace over the river, facing the cliff of Crussol on the Ardèche bank.
- Centre du Patrimoine Arménien · In the early 1920s survivors of the Armenian genocide arrived in Valence, many of them to work in the silk mills of the Drôme. Their descendants make the town one of the main Armenian centres in France, and this museum tells their story.
- Temple Saint-Ruf · The canons of Saint-Ruf, an order founded near Avignon, moved their mother house to Valence in the 12th century. Their church now serves the town's Protestants, a reminder that the Drôme was a stronghold of the Huguenots.
- Canaux de Valence · The canals were dug in the Middle Ages to water the gardens and drive the mills of the plain, fed by springs and streams from the hills to the east. Lined with paths and small bridges, they are now a quiet green walk away from traffic.
- Maison Pic · André Pic won three Michelin stars in 1934 and brought the family restaurant to Valence two years later. In 2007 his granddaughter Anne-Sophie Pic won back the third star, becoming the only woman in France to hold three at the time.
Rhône, chocolate and a postman's dream
Around Valence the Rhône valley narrows between vineyards, and the towns on its banks hide some of the most unusual sights in the region. This drive crosses to the castle cliff on the Ardèche side, runs north to the chocolate town and its twin across the river, then heads east to Romans and the postman's palace. A full day by car; book the chocolate visit in holiday periods.
- Château de Crussol · The castle was built in the 12th century by the Crussol family, who later became Dukes of Uzès, the senior dukes of France. Abandoned since the 17th century, its ruined walls are the outline you see from every terrace in Valence.
- Château-Musée de Tournon · In 1825 the engineer Marc Seguin and his brothers opened a cable suspension bridge between Tournon and Tain, the first of its kind in continental Europe. It was taken down in 1965, but the footbridge they added in 1849 still crosses below the castle.
- Cité du Chocolat Valrhona · Valrhona was founded in Tain-l'Hermitage in 1922 by a local pastry chef, Albéric Guironnet, and its name joins the Rhône valley to its river. Its chocolate is used by many of the top pastry kitchens in France, and the museum lets you taste through the range.
- Collégiale Saint-Barnard · Romans grew around an abbey founded in the 9th century by Barnard, Archbishop of Vienne, and this church on the Isère is its successor. The town's own bake is the pogne, a brioche scented with orange blossom, traditionally made for Easter.
- Musée international de la Chaussure · Romans was the capital of French luxury shoemaking in the 20th century, and its museum, in a 17th-century convent of the Visitation, holds thousands of shoes from ancient Egypt to modern designers. The town still has workshops making high-end shoes.
- Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval · In 1879 the village postman Ferdinand Cheval tripped over an odd-shaped stone on his round and decided to build a palace. He worked alone for 33 years, carrying stones home in a wheelbarrow, and the result was listed as a historic monument in 1969.
Getting to Valence and getting around
- Valence-Ville station · Regional trains in the town centre; a ten-minute walk to the old town
- Valence TGV station · High-speed trains to Paris and Marseille, 10 km north-east; a shuttle train links it to the centre
- Valence bus station · Next to Valence-Ville station; regional coaches into the Drôme and Ardèche
Cheap eats in Valence
The Drôme eats between the Alps and Provence: ravioles from the Vercors foothills, caillettes from the farms, nougat from Montélimar to the south, and fruit from the orchards of the Rhône plain. Valence's own sweet is the suisse, a biscuit shaped like a little Swiss Guard. A bakery lunch or a market picnic is easy and cheap; a sit-down lunch menu at a café runs higher but still well below Paris.
- Maison Nivon · Suisse and pogne by the station, about €2-6
- Laurent Serre · Bakery on the Grande Rue; sandwich and pastry about €5-8
- Maison Pascalis · Bread and tarts for a picnic, about €2-5
- Le marché café · Coffee and a croissant on the market square, about €3-5
- Big Fernand · French-style burgers, about €12-15
- Galata kebab · Kebab sandwich, the cheapest hot meal in the centre, about €7-9
Museums in Valence
- Musée de Valence · Hubert Robert drawings and the panorama window
- Centre du Patrimoine Arménien · Armenian exile and memory; an hour
- Maison des Têtes · The architecture and heritage centre inside the Renaissance house
- Musée international de la Chaussure · Thousands of shoes from five continents
- Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval · Allow an hour and a half with the tomb
Nature and day trips near Valence
- Château de Crussol · Short steep climb for the view over Valence and the Rhône
- Parc Jouvet · Shaded terraces and a pond in the centre
- Canaux de Valence · Waterside paths through the southern districts
- Parc de l'Épervière · Rhône bank, marina and open lawns
Things to do in Valence with kids
- Cité du Chocolat Valrhona · Tasting all the way round; children love it
- Jardin des Trains Ardéchois · Garden model railway across the Rhône
- Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval · Stairs, grottoes and animals in stone to explore
- Parc Jouvet · Space to run between sights in the centre
Where to eat in Valence
- Maison Pic · Anne-Sophie Pic's three-star table; book weeks ahead
- Le Bistrot des Clercs · Classic bistro on the market square
- Chez Grand-Mère · Home cooking on Place de la Pierre
- Le Lièvre et l'Escargot · Small restaurant at the top of the Grande Rue
- Toque & vin · Rhône wines by the glass with plates
- Le Perron Brasserie · Brasserie terrace under the cathedral
Frequently asked questions about Valence
What is there to see in Valence?
The top sights in Valence are Maison des Têtes, Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire and Le Pendentif. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Valence?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Valence without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Valence?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Valence, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Old Valence on foot.
How do you get to Valence and get around?
The main ways are Valence-Ville station, Valence TGV station and Valence bus station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Valence, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Valence that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Valence for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.