Page 385 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

river. The Grands Goulets, warren of narrow streets and Espace Vignolis –
7 km (4 miles) to the east, is stepped alleyways, the most Musée de l’Olivier
a gorge over looked by sheer rewarding of which is the "' ⌂ Place Olivier de
cliffs that virtually shut out covered rue des Grands Forts. Serres # 9am–7pm daily
the sky. The best-known Spanning the River Aygues ∑ vignolis.fr
mountain in the park is the is a graceful 13th- century
Mont Aiguille, a soaring out- bridge; on its town side are Château de
crop of 2,086 m (6,844 ft). several old mills turned into Suze-la-Rousse
The Vercors was a key base shops, where you can see the "'= # 10am–6pm daily
for the French Resistance enormous presses once used ¢ Public hols ∑ chateaux-
during World War II. In July to extract olive oil. The Espace ladrome.fr
1944 the Germans launched Vignolis – Musée de l’Olivier
an aerial attack on the region, further explains the industry.
flattening several of its vil- There is a fine view from LIFE ON HIGH
lages. Resistance muse ums the belvedere above the town. The sure-footed Alpine
are at Vassieux and Grenoble. Sheltered by mountains, Nyons ibex lives high above
has an almost exotic climate, the tree line for all but
with all the trees and plants of the coldest season.
16 the Riviera to be found here. Until the Parc National
From Nyons, the D94 leads
Nyons west to the pleasant wine de la Vanoise was
created in 1963, it
village of Suze-la-Rousse,
! F6 ⌂ Drôme @ n Pl had become almost
de la Libération; www. which, during the Middle Ages, extinct in France, but
nyons.com was the most important town conservation has seen
in the area. Today, it is best the population rise to
Nyons is synonymous with known for its “university of over 10,000. Both
olives in France. All manner of wine”, one of the most res- males and females
olive products are sold at the pected centres of oenology in have horns and those
Thursday-morning market, the world, housed in the 14th- of the oldest males can
from soap to tapenade. century Château de Suze-la- be almost 1 m (3 ft) long.
The Quartier des Forts is Rousse, the hunting lodge of
the town’s oldest quarter, a the princes of Orange.
385

384-385_EW_France.indd 385 30/01/2019 16:44