The �departments� of Ard�che and Dr�me are both located in the region of the Rh�ne-Alpes region of France. They have little in common with their neighbouring Alpine �departments� and have more similarity with Provence to the south. These �departments� straddle the Rh�ne River with the Vercors and Alps to the east and the Massif Central to the west. Easy to reach by road from the UK and also by TGV and Eurostar, travel options also include low cost flights to N�mes, Grenoble, St. Etienne and Montpellier plus services to Geneva and Lyons. Great holiday destinations at any time of the year, these unspoilt areas of France have much to offer.
ARD�CHE
LIVE (& LEARN)�LIKE A LORD!
Ch�teau de Rochessauve � plants and patina
Is magical�and friendly, a wonderful refuge from the busy world to recharge those batteries! The chateau, packed with antiques and curios, is tucked in the end of a valley commanding lovely views over the surrounding countryside, perfect for walks�and it even has its own private discoth�que! Jacques does the gardening, introduces you to the local plants and flowers, and does the cooking � you will not be disappointed with the delicious cuisine, whilst Yannick trains home decoration enthusiasts to use patina. This is an extraordinary place to spend a weekend �or longer!
For further information: Tel: +33 475 65 07 06 or www.chateau-de-rochessauve.com
Ch�teau d�Uzer - mushrooms
This castle is just a few miles from Aubenas and has a thirteenth century defence tower, fifteenth century vaults and a nineteenth century wing. The modern rooms are discretely decorated in different colours and themes. There is a large, cool, shady park filled with tropical plants surrounding the chateau and a pool in which to bathe before a typical Mediterranean meal. Spend a weekend in this very relaxing atmosphere and in autumn your hostess Muriel Chevalier can be your guide searching for delicate mushrooms in the countryside..
For further information: www.chateau-uzer.com
Ch�teau Clement � chocolate and �marrons glac�s�
Marie-Antoinette and Eric Chabot welcome you to this elegant and refined chateau in Vals-les-Bains, renovated to its former glory with magnificent d�cor throughout, (the original staircase is truly unique). Eric, a pastry chef by trade, holds half-day cuisine courses � what to do with chocolate�and how to make �marrons glac�s�, a very famous product of the Ard�che. Contemporary comfort in a friendly atmosphere � just the perfect short break. Rates for the classes are �50-70 per person with four � eight people per course.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 87 40 13 or www.chateauclement.com
Ch�teau Domaine de Moulin - horseriding
This is a renovated fifteenth century stone mansion belonging to Yvonne and Hugo Heule. There is a wonderful restaurant serving the best of local cuisine and wines, which carries the equestrian theme of the Domaine. Spend a weekend horseriding, or learning to, as the Domaine has its own equestrian centre on site. Once a days� riding has been enjoyed, relax in the huge living room complete with enormous fireplace or on the terrace overlooking the green and undulating countryside.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 06 88 68 or www.chateaudomainedumoulin.com
Ch�teau de Fontblach�re � painting, embroidery, cooking and engraving
Giving up life as a Parisien banker was not difficult for Bernard Liaudois when he found and restored the seventeenth century castle close to Privas � Fontblach�re. Now Bernard holds classes in painting, engraving, embroidery and cooking in this refined and comfortable haven of tranquility. There are tennis courts and an emerald green pool all protected by a wealth of trees set in the forested countryside. A monumental staircase leads to just four traditional rooms.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 65 12 02 or www.fontblachere.com
Le Mas Bleu � wellness spa and art
Nestled in the cool, lush, green mountains of the Ard�che, Le Spa Bleu �Spa Resort� is enchanting, a tranquil and serene spot in which to enjoy a weekend wellness programme.
The 'Mas' was built in the wealthy silk producing period and the standard of accommodation is top class. An 'Art of Spa' range of services is provided by an international team, recognised for its professional know-how and appreciated for its personal approach. There are all sorts of treatments on offer from weekend packages to week-long stays, even an arts and spa package incorporating water colour painting classes and spa treatments.
For further information: www.lespableu.com
EAT, DRINK & ENJOY!
Honey
Learn all about honey from London-born Juliet Pascal, now living in Chalen�on, beekeeping and honey making for shops as far apart as Vernoux-en-Viverais and West Sussex, Chalen�on and Surrey! Juliet makes wild flower, lavender, chestnut, woodland, heather and pine honey as well as producing goats milk on her farm and collecting c�pes and chanterelle mushrooms from the surrounding countryside.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 58 07 29
Chestnuts
�Le Viverais� restaurant in Vals-les-Bains is one of many gastronomic restaurants in the Ard�che, but Christine Brioude is renowned among them for the fascinating gourmet dishes she produces, not least her �cousina� chestnut soup. Christine�s cuisine is based on long-forgotten or neglected recipes used through five generations of her family who have reigned supreme here. If you cannot drag yourself away the establishment has comfortable rooms overlooking the river in the shade of the lime trees.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 94 65 85
Sweets �� pastilles de Vals�
Many years ago a confectioner from Vichy bought with him to Vals that famous sweet recipe and made it unique by using a particular water from this spa town. He flavoured the mints with mint and lemon. After a few decades the production stopped, but is has recently been revived by the Patisserie Baudoin, unique in producing the sweets that are said to have digestive and invigorating properties.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 37 45 66
Wine - Vinimage
Viniamge is not a shop nor a museum, but a voyage of discovery about the wines of Ard�che. One area of this building in Ruoms introduces the geography and geology of the region, another focuses on the history of wine-production and the process of viticulture from the moment the grape is picked. You can literally enter the grape and experience being turned into wine!
For further information: Tel: +33 475 93 85 00 or www.ardeche-wines.com or www.vinimage.tm.fr
Cheese ��picodon�
Goats cheese called �picodon� is a delicious local specialty in the Ard�che and this is one of the best places to purchase this gem of a �fromage�. The mediaeval town of Largenti�re has a farm producing AOC Picodon where you can spend a weekend in one of the farmhouse rooms. If you adore French cheese this is the place to stay � Mas de la Madeleine.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 39 23 18.
Jams
Nicole is well known for the unusual and wonderful jams she makes, high in the Ard�che near Mont-Gerbier-de-Jonc near the source of the River Loire. She makes jam with fruits picked in the surrounding countryside, following recipes inherited from her mother and grandmother. The most striking examples are dandelion, bilberry, wild thyme, chestnut, elderberry, milk�and so delicious and of such good quality she is the provider of jams to Regis Marcon, a three Michelin star chef who was crowned with the Bocuse d�Or in 1999.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 38 89 82
Olives
Olives have been grown in the southern part of the Ard�che since the fifteenth century. Today production centres on three places, Les Vans, Vallon-Pont d�Arc and Saint-Sauveur-de-Cruzi�res, where top quality oil is produced in the traditional family way. In Les Vans olive discovery walks are organised every Thursday from the end of June onwards, except in July on the last Thursday when the olive festival takes place. You visit the olive orchards and newer plantations as well as the olive mill of Albert Froment. There is a tasting of olives and related products at the end of the tour.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 37 24 48
Chocolate
Visit a craftsman in his workshop � Dominique Riou is a jeweller of chocolate adding spices and chestnuts and all marvellous flavours. In his lovely shop in Le Cheylard you can also find his marshmallows, spicy caramels and fruit jellies flavoured with mulberry, verbena, chestnut and blood orange. His work is so renowned he makes sweets for the best Michelin starred restaurateurs.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 30 41 09
PLANTS & FLOWERS
Geraldene Holt and the mediaeval village of St-Montan
Geraldene Holt is an internationally acclaimed food writer living in St.Montan, whose second book � Diary of a French Herb Garden� was recently published in the UK. Geraldene swapped her ladle for the garden fork and describes how she spent a year creating a herb garden for St-Montan. In her first book � Diary of a Country Priest�s Garden�, Geraldene writes about the local herbs and plants and how to cook the most delicious recipes using them. She evokes the village where she resides, her friends and neighbours, the climate and landscape.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 52 55 40 or email: [email protected]
The Lavender Museum in Saint-Remeze
Just a short distance from the famous Ard�che Gorges, in the heart of the lavender fields where the plant has grown for centuries on the Gras Plateau, the Lavender Museum of Saint-Remeze tells the story of the plant whose real virtues have only really been recognised since the 1920�s. One can learn here about the extraction of the essential oil from the plant and how it is transformed into perfume. There are guided tours, an aromatic botanical garden and a shop selling the lavender products for which the area is renowned.
For further information: Tel: +33 475 04 36 38 or www.saint-remeze.com
Menus Curieux at Jaujac
Menus curieux is a relatively new association of professionals who share their love of the local area with visitors. The emphasis is on the superb flavours of the Ard�che. Those interested in cooking or simply in botany can enjoy tasting the numerous wild, edible plants and delicious local fruit and vegetables.
The weekend breaks change slightly with the seasons so that in spring you may go in search of edible wild plants by the wayside, whereas in autumn it may be a visit to local farmers who will explain the use of their various crops and introduce you to forgotten and exotic fruits, vegetables and herbs. At the end of the day you will learn how to prepare the very plants you have gathered and make a meal with your hosts.
The programme is very flexible so you could be enjoying a botanical walk, discovering the local flora with a gourmet botanist as a guide, starting your own dried flower collection or visiting some of the picturesque villages nearby.
Menus curieux packages start from �250 for two people for two nights sharing a double or twin bedded room on B&B; basis in a �chambre d�h�te�. A picnic or hot meal at lunchtime on Saturday and an evening meal, both with drinks is also in the package as are the services of your hosts as guides on the walk.
For further information: www.la-ferme-du-monteil.com
La Toque Sauvage
Is an association that is concerned with the uses of plants and natural products. The association�s members undertake culinary training, making cosmetics, ethnobotanics, lecturing and talks on plants and how to use them for audiences as diverse as school children to wedding receptions, gastronomy with wild plants and biologically cultivated plants, consultancy on the conception of new products from plants, the creation of themed gardens and the production of books on cooking, cosmetics, beverages and popular medicine.
Bachir Henni has been interested in gastronomy with wild and biologically cultivated plants (flowers, stalks, roots and leaves) for fifteen years, and he has created about 200 recipes
He is a chef, a registered culinary teacher and author of four books about cooking with flowers, beverages with plants, cosmetics and the popular medicine. Spend a weekend profiting from his extraordinary knowledge accumulated over fifteen years.
For further information: www.toquesauvage.com
SEJOURS DE CHARME EN ARDECHE
Short breaks and longer stays in accommodation of character. Selected for their quiet surroundings and friendly atmosphere the �hotels of character� have now been joined by some guesthouses of a similar nature, full of charm and strongly linked to Ard�che traditions. There is a great diversity of style � from a modern hotel in the Rh�ne Valley to a granite walled house in the Green Ard�che or a typical �mas� or farmhouse.
Examples include:
Hostellerie La Cardinale**** - cradle of Relais & Ch�teaux, situated in the lovely village of Baix on the River Rhone, this mansion has not changed its sophisticated but friendly feel in centuries. For further information: Tel: +33 475 85 80 40 or www.relaischateaux.fr/cardinale
Autour d�une Fontaine*** - as modern art lovers, the owners of this hotel have had the furniture made especially to fit the atmosphere of what is partly an art gallery that holds regular exhibitions. For further information: Tel: +33 475 60 87 47or www.autourdunefontaine.com
Domaine de Soyons*** - once an elegant mansion, this hotel offers a calm and peaceful ambience combined with the classical lines of Empire furniture and nineteenth century French School paintings. For further information: Tel: +33 475 60 83 55 or www.ledomainedesoyons.com
Auberge Les Murets** - a typical �mas� dating from the eighteenth century in a gorgeous park surrounded by vineyards and olive trees. Now a Logis de France, situated in the southern Ard�che. For further information: Tel: +33 475 39 08 32 or www.guideweb.com/ardeche/
La Porte de la Besse � G�tes de France three corn-stars � is a thirteenth century house in the old ramparts of the fortified village of Chalen�on which has features such as a mediaeval living-room. For further information: Tel: +33 47558 15 18 or www.portedebesse.free.fr
La Ferme du Pic d�Allier � G�tes de France four corn stars � an old eighteenth century silk mill built of volcanic rock, beautifully decorated, with a river running nearby and surrounded by chestnut trees. For further information: Tel: +33 475 52 98 45 or www.picdallier.com
Le Mas d�Alzon � G�tes de France three corn stars � formerly a fifteenth century convent constructed of limestone surrounded by vineyards and olive trees and only cicadas puncture the peace. For further information: Tel: +33 475 38 67 33
For more information contact:
Magellan PR on Tel: 020 8875 2850
Email: [email protected]