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Montélimar

Travel Guide Europe France Rhône-Alpes Montélimar

Introduction

Montélimar is a historic city in the Rhône-Alpes region and is a commune in the Drôme department of southern France. It is the second largest town in the department after Valence (Valence is also the arrondissement where Montélimar is located in) and has aproximately 34,000 inhabitants.

The region around Montélimar has been inhabited since Celtic times and the Roman era saw the construction of a basilica, aqueduct, forums and chapels. The Adhemar family ruled the area during the Middle Ages and built a magnificient castle which still dominates the city landscape.

Montélimar is renowned worldwide for its nougat, which is a chewy candy made from almonds and lavender-honey. Nougat has been made in Montélimar since the 17th century and is believed to have been originated even earlier during the Greeco-Roman period. The city is also famous for its red wine, lavender, almonds, olives, silks, carpets and ceramics.

For more information about the regions and its surrounding, have a look at the official Montélimar Tourism website (French olnly).

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Neighbourhoods

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Sights and Activities

Adhemar Castle
Museum of Protestantism in the Dauphine
Castle of Grignan
Castle of Suze la Rousse
La tower of Crest
Bourg Saint Andeol
Musée de la Miniature
Well preserved historic town centre

In 2009, the town was the starting place of stage 20 to the Mont Ventoux, the toughest climb of the year!

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Events and Festivals

The Montélimar Tourism website has details about upcoming events.

The annual Lavender Festival is one of the greatest, held in July every year.

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Weather

Montélimar enjoys a nice climate. Summers last from June to September and are usually dry, warm and sunny. Average daytime temperatures are between 25 and 30 degrees Celcius on most days, though temperatures well over 35 degrees are possible on some days. Also, the chance of heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms, although not completely absent, is less compared to eastern mountainous France.

Winters last from December to February which is the coldest period of the year though temperatures are usually above zero. Occasional frost and even some snow is not unheard of though.

May/June and September/early October are nice times for a visit, as temperatures are nice and you avoid the crowds of July and August when half of Europe goes to France and French people themselves are going on holiday en mass in August as well.

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Getting There

By Plane

The closest airports with connections to major towns of the region are at Lyon Saint Exupéry and Marseille in France. The town of Montélimar can be reached from both these airports by approximately 90 minutes drive. Both airports have a significant number of international flights, mainly to destinations in Europe and some connections further away, for example to cities in Northern Africa.

Some smaller airports might be of use if you have the chance to go budget with some low-cost airlines. The airports of Montpellier and Grenoble are a few examples and are almost as close as the ones in Lyon and Marseille. Nimes is even closer and has some flights to the UK for example as well.

By Train

Montélimar is an important railway station on the French Railway network. Both high speed TGV trains and normal trains are available to most of the cities of the region. SNCF operates the rail network in France.

By Car

Montélimar is located just west of the main north-south highway through eastern France, the A7 or Route du Soleil. There are some nice smaller roads though to approach the city, especially west of the town is a nice area and the Mont Ventoux and Parc Nacional des Cevennes is a short drive southwestwards as well.

By Bus

Buses connect Montélimar with many regional towns, villages and some cities further away. For travelling between larger cities the train is far more comfortable and faster though.

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Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

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Eat

The Hotel des Pins (see below at sleeping options) has a good restaurant as well. There are many more options throughout the city though, as is the case with most French cities and large towns.

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