Drôme Esprit Nature

This is hiking land for walkers of all abilities: the local tourist office has details of 20 hiking loops in the region, ranging from strolls of an hour and a half to treks lasting all day. More spectacularly scenic hikes and strolls are in the Drôme's Saou Forest, an almost enclosed valley space surrounded by gently sloping hills. This is a wildlife haven too, so look out for wild boars, pine martens, weasels, foxes, badgers and deer, as well as over a hundred species of birds including eagles, buzzards and ravens. The 11,000 hectares and many well-marked hiking and horse riding trails of the Marsanne Forest are about 17 kilometres from here. River swimming, horse riding and treetop adventuring are all available near the site.