Camping du Lion

As you’ll see from the river banks, the Rhône is a prime spot for catching pike, black bass and trout, and fishing permits can be purchased in town. It’s also great for riverside strolls and cycles, linking up with the Via Rhôna pilgrim route linking the Swiss lakes to the Mediterranean. If you’d rather be on the water, make for Saint-Martin d’Ardèche (20 minutes) to canoe your way down the famed gorges, take boat cruises at a slower pace or lounge around on the river beach. It’s around half an hour’s drive to the Cave du Pont d’Arc, a network of massive limestone caverns where you can see replicas of the Palaeolithic paintings from nearby Chauvet Cave. Like the similar set-up at Aven d’Orgnac (40 minutes away), the theme-park feel doesn’t detract from the beauty of the paintings or the surrounding scenery: both make a good base for walks through the famed gorges. For thrills of a more 21st-century kind, you can have a go on the flight simulators at ELLIP’6 in Pierrelatte (10 minutes), plump for laser tag and paintballing at Game Park Loisirs in Malataverne (20 minutes), and high ropes treetops adventure stuff at Vert-Tige, half an hour away.