Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche (; ) is a commune in the department of

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is situated at the Southern entrance of the

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Bidon,

Bourg-Saint-Andéol Bourg-Saint-Andéol (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône Valley in southern France. Geography It lies directly along the river Rhône at the southeast end of the department south of the smaller town Viviers, from P ...

Gras Gras may refer to: People * Basile Gras (1836–1901), French firearm designer * Enrico Gras (1919–1981), Italian filmmaker * Felix Gras (1844–1901), Provençal poet and novelist * Laurent Gras (disambiguation) * N. S. B. Gras (1884–1956), ...

, Larnas, Saint-Montan, Saint-Just, Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche,

Saint-Remèze Saint-Remèze (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. Population See also * Côtes du Vivarais AOC *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of ...

and Viviers at the very south-eastern end of department.

Population

Geography

A few kilometres from the main trail of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

Valley between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean coast, a Gateway to

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche lies underneath the silhouette of medieval

Aiguèze Aiguèze (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Since 2005, Aiguèze has been a member of ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("The most beautiful villages of France"), the first such location i ...

at the outlet of the

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Vallon-Pont-d'Arc Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (; ) is a village in southern France in the Ardèche Department. The village is a gateway to one of the most beautiful tourist sites in France, the Ardèche Gorges, where the Ardèche river has carved a dramatic canyon thro ...

with the magnificent natural stone arch on the river and Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche. Since 1960, a panoramic road follows the canyon up the hill through the ''

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the ...

'', the common Mediterranean vegetation when arriving from the North, and ends in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche with a view of the river flowing towards the

in the direction of the (Fuji-Yama silhouette) of the 1900 m high

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...

History

Originally a settlement of peasants, fishermen and boatmen at a ford on the river, ''Petra'' and/or ''Sant Martin de la Peyre'' (St. Martin of the rocks) belonged over the centuries to the baronets of Aiguèze, whose fortress overlooked the whole valley down to the delta of

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, at the time in the duchy of

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon, and southeast of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia'' or ''Eutica'' in Latin, Uzès wa ...

. It only became a separate ''commune'' after the French Revolution, when Départements were created with the river here as the border: Aiguèze in ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' Gard, Saint-Martin-de-la-Pierre as Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche in ''département'' Ardèche. Its location on a ford had made the village an early stop for pilgrims and travellers. A church was built in the 11th and 12th centuries (up to the 19th-century bell tower). The river would finally be spanned by a stone bridge built in 1895 - which would be destroyed five years later by one of the furious swellings the

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Cévennes The Cévennes ( , ; ) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the '' départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geographical, ...

. In September 1900, the bridge collapsed and was replaced in 1905 by a hanging bridge. The economy of the village was mainly agricultural during the 19th and early 20th centuries which comprised silkworms, fruit, wine, wood floating and charcoal transport on the river, plus fishing. Change occurred in the second half of the 20th century with the transformation of the nearby Rhône Valley with the construction of the canal on the Rhône, atomic industries in Marcoule by

Bagnols-sur-Cèze Bagnols-sur-Cèze (, "Bagnols-on-Cèze"; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. History A small regiona ...

and Eurodif in

Pierrelatte Pierrelatte (; ) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Since the 1980s it hosts one of the biggest production plants of the enriched uranium existing in the world, used both for civil and military purposes. Population ...

, the A7 highway from Lyon to Spain and the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, plus the

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

railway construction. The local economy is now based on wine and tourism. The southern Côtes du Rhône vineyards and

Kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

and camping trips down the gorge are common in summer. Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche at the crossroads of four ''

''s,

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

, with its river beaches, canoe trips, hiking and riding on the surrounding hills, plus historical towns and villages nearby,

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

sites with

dolmens A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (40003000 BCE) and w ...

, caves, medieval chapels, Renaissance buildings etc, provide a tourist gateway to

Tourism

Situated less than south of Lyon, northwest of

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, northeast of

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, 50 km from the Roman Pont du Gard), and from Mediterranean sea, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche offers, with nearby

(mainly in the high season from March to November), * 3 hotels * 7 campsites * several guest houses, B&B, ''gîtes'' and ''chambres d'hôtes'' * several restaurants * canoe and kayak rental Nearby sites: *

Aven d'Orgnac The aven d'Orgnac is a cave located to the south of the limestone plateau of the Gorges de l'Ardèche, in the commune of Orgnac-l'Aven in the department of Ardèche, in the region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Issirac in the Gard department, in t ...

Orgnac-l'Aven Orgnac-l'Aven (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. The Aven d'Orgnac cave is located near the village. Population See also * Côtes du Vivarais AOC *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a l ...

Cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s like Grottes de Saint-Marcel on the Route Touristique de Gorges *

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s (Champvermeil in Bidon, Pradèches in Saint-Marcel - or near the Botanic Path at the Grottes de Saint-Marcel with a menhir,...) * Roman sites of

Alba-la-Romaine Alba-la-Romaine (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southern France. Geography Alba-la-Romaine is located some 5 km west of Montélimar, Drôme on a mountain ridge overlooking the Rhône riv ...

, Roman bridge on the Escoutaÿ river in Viviers * Mediaeval villages with ''burg'' ruins :

labelled one of the "Most Beautiful Villages of France", Saint-Montan * Mediaeval isolated church of Larnas, chapels St-Sulpice in Saint-Marcel d'Ardèche, Ste-Agnès in Saint-Paulet-de-Caisson,... * Mediaeval and Renaissance town centers in

, Viviers see,

Pont-Saint-Esprit Pont-Saint-Esprit (, literally "Holy Spirit Bridge"; ) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the river Rhône and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche flows into the Rhône, jus ...

with its 13th-century stonebridge over the

at the confluence of

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (; ), sometimes known as -en-Tricastin, is a commune, an administrative region, in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''Augusta Tricastinorum'' (1st c. AD), ''Trikastinoi ...

and castles of Suze-la-Rousse or Mme de Sévigné's daughter

Grignan Grignan (; ) is a commune in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. It has a Renaissance castle ...

* La Ferme aux Crocodiles in