Aubenas

Introduction

Ardèche

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Aubenas is a commune in the arrondissement of Largentière. It is located in the Ardèche department in the Rhone Valley in the southeast of France, just west of the Alps. It is a great location with mountains and the Ardèche river flowing through the commune and has about 12,000 inhabitants. Aubenas is part of the "Pays d'Aubenas-Vals". This area contains 10 towns and villages with a total of around 24,000 people. Aubenas has a good position regarding tourism, as a regional natural park, the zone of the Ardèche river canyon, and the start of the mountain ranges (like the Alps) are all nearby.

Aubenas has a prestigious past and is known for its rich cultural, architectural and industrial heritage. Nicknamed La Medievale and La Cité des Montlaur, the town is home to many magnificent monuments from the Middle Ages such as the castle which is listed as a historical monument, the Dôme Saint-Benoît and the Maison Delichères (House of Gargoyles). Aubenas is a perfect base to explore the region and its surroundings which has The Ardèche Gorges, Ardèche Mountains (Mont Gerbiec-de-Jonc which is the source of river Loire), Cevennes mountain range and numerous medieval and typical villages (Largentière, Vogue, Balazuc, etc.) which are worth a visit.

Aubenas is an active and vibrant town in an economic sense too, as it is the centre of the Chamber of Commerce of the southern part of Ardèche. The town has about 350 shops where you can buy varied things, from clothes to food and traditional local stuff. The town is also famous for the chestnut production as well as has some great varieties of cheese and processed meat. Tourism, commerce and food-industry are the three main pillars which sustain the economy and bring prosperity to the region

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Château d'Aubenas.
• Maison Delichères (House of Gargoyles)
• The Saint Laurent composite church.
• Dôme Saint-Benoît

Events and Festivals

Weather

Aubenas has warm, dry and sunny summer weather from June to September with generally temperatures between 25 and 28 degrees Celcius during the day and pleasant nights. Sometimes, heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms occur during this time. Winters last from December to March, when frost at night is common but it rarely gets really cold. Sometimes there is some snow (mainly on higher parts) but temperatures are usually just above zero on most days.

Getting There

By Plane

Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) near Marseille and Saint-Exupéry International Airport (LYS) near Lyon are the airports closest by with a significant number of flights throughout Europe and a few places beyond.

By Train

The nearest train stations are at Valence and Montelimar, which can be reached by approximately one hour's drive from Aubenas. High speed TGV trains connect Valence/Montelimar to most of the major towns of the region. SNCF operates the rail network in France.

By Car

Aubenas is just west of the main highway, the Route du Soleil (A7), which runs south from Lyon towards Montpellier and branches south of the town towards Marseille.

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter.
Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.