Camping Le Bontemps

A drive of about 25 minutes will take you to the handsome old city of Vienne, once a strategic city in Roman times. Some of the thermal baths are still around to see, as well as the Augustan temple, converted to a church in the Middle Ages, and the Roman amphitheatre, now used for the annual Vienne jazz festival running for two weeks each summer. An excellently odd day out nearby is the Palais idéal of Ferdinand Cheval, a postman who lived in these parts in the 19th century. Picking up an unusually shaped rock one day while out on his rounds, he decided to bring it home and then seek out others of the same type, with which to construct an elaborate stone palace by the side of the road (as you do). The overall effect is really rather fab: do go see. The Pilat Regional Nature Park, about 15 minutes away to the west, has 560 kilometres of marked walking trails to tackle for hikers or strollers of all abilities, over its 65,000 hectares of mountains, lakes and meadows.