Vercors, Drome, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

The community of communes of Vercors, located in the department of Drôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. This range is in the transition zone between the Alps to the south and those to the north. It enjoys spectacular scenery consisting of gorges, cliffs, passes and plateaus which are home to an exceptional range of flora and fauna. South of Vercors, the 5 villages of Vercors Drôme nestling in the folds of small valleys or spread out across the wide plateaus live in tune with the seasons and farming and forest life.

“Le Vercors”, located in south-west France between Grenoble and Valence, is a range of medium-altitude mountains made up of 8 natural regions – Le Vercors Drôme, Les Quatre-Montagnes, Les Coulmes, Le Royans, Le Diois, Le Trièves, La Gervanne and Le Piémont Nord. Officially created at the end of 1995, it covered the whole of the former canton of La Chapelle-en-Vercors. It brought together five municipalities which belonged to the former canton of La Chapelle-en-Vercors until March 2015. Following the redistribution of the cantons of the department, they were attached to the canton of Vercors-Monts du Matin.

Tourism
Vercors-Drôme has a wealth of cultural, historic and natural heritage, with caves, museums, parks and places of remembrance to visit, allowing you to immerse yourself more fully into its history.

Historical heritage
History is still present today in this region, from prehistoric times to the Resistance. The vertiginous roads, cave explorations and country skills are also characteristic of Le Vercors. The Vercors enjoys a special heritage and has been classified as a Regional Nature Park since 1970. It is unlike any other region, with outstanding countryside that has an exceptional wealth of landforms, flora and fauna and history. All this creates a unique adventure playground that can be appreciated throughout the year Don’t miss the vertiginous roads, built by a sheer force of will during the second half of the 19th century, will astonish in the way that they daringly cling to the cliff side.

Aqueduct and Royans & Vercors area
A 32 meter lift offering panoramic views provides access to a walk above the water with unforgettable views over the Vercors and the Bourne Valley. Information panells, orientation tables and audio points present the Royans Vercors to the visitor. A panoramic exterior lift will give you access to an ambulatory above the water facing a remarkable panorama of the Vercors. Circulation on the structure embellished by educational panels, 4 orientation tables and 4 talking terminals. Ticket office on the ground floor of the Aqueduct, with access to the museography on the Vercors Regional Natural Park, video, historical commentary on the roads of Vercors, the Abbey of Léoncel, the castle of Rochechinard, the aqueduct of St Nazaire en Royans, as well as the flora and fauna of the Vercors.

Court of the executed
Memorial site dedicated to the tragic events of July 1944 in Chapelle-en-Vercors. On July 25, 1944, German soldiers arrived at La Chapelle en Vercors. They gather the population and take sixteen young people hostage. That same evening, when the village was set on fire, these boys were executed in a farmyard (“La cour des fusillé”). Inside the restored barn which adjoins the courtyard, a museographic space pays homage to these martyrs.

Porch of the Grotte de la Luire
The entrance to the cave served as a hospital for the Vercors resistance fighters (the ‘maquis’) during the summer of 1944. National Resistance site. Guided geological and historical visits. Sound and light On July 27, 1944, the improvised maquis hospital under the porch of the Luire, was surrounded by the troops of the German army. Some of the wounded and the medical team were shot, the other deportees.

Historial site of Valchevrière
Valchevrière, a place of silence and contemplation, is one of the most moving and evocative sites of the Resistance in the Vercors. This hamlet, in the middle of the forest, served as a camp for the guerrillas before being the site of a severe clash on July 22 and 23, 1944. On the belvedere which dominates the village, men sacrificed themselves to delay the advance of the Nazi armies and died with arms in hand. The houses were then set on fire, only the chapel will be spared. The hamlet remained as it was, with its stones bare and blackened by fire.

Necropolis of the Resistance
Cemetery for the victims of the battles of 1944. Located at the entrance to the village of Vassieux en Vercors and at the crossroads leading to the Resistance Memorial. It brings together 187 tombs materialized by cement crosses painted white. We can also see a German glider carcass

Religious heritage

Carpathian Chapel
Come and visit the wooden chapel of “All the Saints of East and West”, a real jewel of the Carpathians. in a haven of greenery and peace, you will find yourself in the heart of a Russian tale. Discover mosaic and iconography courses all year round. Journey between stone and sky, in the land of mosaic, an ancestral art which is perpetuated with the stones of Vercors. The art of painting icons, a true path of interiority

Saint Antoine Monastery
In the lush and green preserved valley, a jewel of sacred art: 600 m2 of Byzantine style frescoes made by one of the best contemporary Russian artists.

Abbaye cistercienne de Léoncel
Cistercian abbey founded in 1137, listed as a historical monument since 1840 by Prosper Mérimée. Its roman art choir is robust and spare. The chief nave shows signs of a slight evolution towards the Gothic style.

Medieval site of the Carmelite Convent
Cradle of the history of the Dolphins located on the edge of a fortified medieval village, this recently restored 14th century convent revives its history thanks to the Dolphin Museum and invites you to explore an exceptional site.

Dolphins Museum:
Enter the history of castle life and monastic life, discover the habits and customs of a still little-known medieval era: the history of the Dolphins. Almost 100 years after the creation of the Delphinal de Beauvoir Museum by César Filhol, the Musée des Dauphins retraces the history of the Dolphins of France and the constitution of the Dauphiné through a very visual museography.

Flora Museum:
In the heart of a landscaped and natural setting, the Carmelite Convent becomes the relay site for the presentation and information of the Vercors Regional Natural Park and more specifically its flora. Around an ethno-botanical exhibition, you can attend an interactive and fun presentation of the flora interpretation space programmed by the Vercors Regional Natural Park. Evoking the walnut dryers of the region, the contemporary architecture of the museum of flora extends into a medieval garden and a conservatory orchard.

Medieval garden and conservatory orchard:
The visit continues outside with the medieval garden which revives the colors of plants and flowers by the hundreds and the historic orchard which revives the taste of the fruits of yesteryear.

Outdoor route
Commented and dramatized outdoor route: Thanks to interactive sound terminals, let yourself be told about life in the castle at the time of Lord Humbert II and life in the convent or in the medieval village…

Cultural heritage

Museums

The little world of santons of Provence
An extraordinary journey in a magical world… The small world of Santons de Provence. In the heart of Vercors, discover one of the most beautiful and largest regional exhibitions of santons. Over more than 300m2, you will discover a magical world made up of more than 800 figurines. In a setting made up of more than 30 architectural structures, let yourself be carried away by the magic of animated santons that retrace the trades of yesteryear. A sound and light accompanies you throughout this journey out of time.

Resistance Museum
This fascinating museum presents a chronological history of the Resistance fighters. A rich collection covering the events of the Resistance. Opening from 1/4 to 31/10 every day from 10am to midday and from 2pm to 4pm. Entrance free. The rich collection of period objects and tactile terminals punctuate the course organized around 3 themes: “The Vercors before the Vercors” local and international context 1918-1942; “Le maquis du Vercors”: history put in context of maquis at the end of 1942 to August 1944; “The Vercors after the Vercors”: the post-war period: reconstruction of the Vercors, commemorations and memorial constructions. The museum offers cultural and educational activities throughout the year, temporary exhibitions, meetings on the occasion of cultural events such as Heritage Days, as well as guided and thematic tours for young audiences and the adults.

The Water Museum
An interactive and fun Museum that takes you on a discovery trip of Water element. Learn about the cycle of this fundamental element, its rôle in our body and its distribution on our planet; wander through a tropical or a glacial environment simulation; dive through deep sea in our 3-D cinema… At the entrance of the Vercors Natural Parc, the Musée de l’eau is located in Pont-en-Royans, one of the most beautiful and curious villages of the Dauphiné. A village born out of the interaction between humans and water… From the Musée de l’Eau watch the river Bourne and its diverse wildlife. Get a taste of some of the purest and rarest waters of the world at the water bar, and learn about howwater dictated the geological formation and human occupation of our landscapes. Exhibition 2018 in partnership with Electricité de France: From Water to Electricity.

Vercors Prehistory Museum
Explore the archaeological site, listed as a Historical Monument. Presentation of the site, slide show, demonstration of flint knapping. Handle flint, hides, tools. Try your hand at making fires, hunting, art and crafts.

The Vercors Resistance Memorial
This memorial, above Vassieux, is the centre piece of a circuit which encourages the discovery of sites of events involving Resistance fighters took place, and to understand what occurred here 50 years ago.

Royans Museum
Right by the ruins of the medieval castle in the former presbytery (18th century), Rochechinard created the Museum of Royans in 1979 Lifestyle and Tradition. Memory of the soil, heritage and customs, this museum tour takes us through 19th century Royans.

Arts and crafts
Our artisans bring passion and something different and unique to each creative process…

Saint-Jean Damascene workshop
The Saint Jean Damascène workshop, of the Orthodox Church parish, was founded by Ludmilla Titchenkova in 1965 in the Paris area before moving to the region of Vercors. Run by father Nicolas Garrigou, it gathers several conography, fresco and mosaic teachers, some, disciples of the renowned Russian Iconographer Father Zenon.

Royans spoons
Tabletterie Desfonds: from trunk to spoon, the evolution of cookware since 1924. All steps in the manufacture of a kitchen utensil. See a spoon being manufactured using techniques and equipment dating back to the 50s. Dernière tabletterie traditionnelle du Royans en activité, fabrication d’objets de la table en bois de merisier du pays ou d’olivier de Calabre.

Nolwenn Airieau
I present a range of usual glazed earthenware pottery and a range of artistic earthenware in unique pieces. I offer internships and courses throughout the year according to various formulas to meet all desires. In the heart of the village of St Martin, place du lavoir, turning, modeling… The workshop is open all year round and the potter is available by appointment for different entertainment options: from the simple discovery session to the internship more elaborate for all audiences.

Earth-Happy 26
Give yourself a creative time, a time to “touch the Earth”. Pottery for all: beginners to initiated, children, teenagers, adults, couples, families…

The workshop of the source
Artisanal soap (cold soaps), natural and organic cosmetics. L’atelier de la source is an artisanal soap factory located in the heart of Vercors. Our ultra-mild and super-rich soaps are made using the cold saponification method with 100% natural ingredients. Our range of 100g soaps and 0 waste (composed of essential oils, donkey or almond milk and wild plants) is intended for people concerned about their skin who appreciate high quality dermatological cosmetics.

Pottery Christian Assel
Since 1982, enamelled stoneware, crystallizations on porcelain, raku, statuettes. A wide variety of techniques for a single potter in perpetual renewal. Exhibition room adjoining the workshop. Located in the center of the village of St Martin en Vercors, the workshop is open all year round.

Wicker cultivation and basketry in Vercors
Manoelle est productrice d’osier… Elle vous enseignera la vannerie paysanne,vous proposera des stages dans le cadre magnifique de St Julien-en-Vercors. Osier et vanneries en vente sur les marchés paysans et travail sur commande.

GoWood
Passionate about wood and inventive, I now make wooden objects made of different species including walnut. These objects are decorative but useful for the office, the kitchen, the leisure, the well being…. The objects that I make are classified into different categories: The desk: These are desk organizers, binders, pens, lamps, mouse pads, sticky notes, headset support, calculators. The kitchen: cheese board, cork or stainless steel stoppers, cork stoppers, salt and pepper mills, salt and pepper kit, plates, cheese knives. Leisure, well-being and household equipment: pocket knives, slicer and sausage guillotine, Bottle rack, barometer thermometer, lamppost, coat rack. All these items are made of different wood species with priority given to walnut. Certain items such as pocket knives or pens can be personalized by engraving, for example, with the first name.

Linden binding workshop
Book binding and restoration. Creation of guest books, photo albums, themed books…

Agriculture
Sample handmade products from our producers – Bleu du Vercors and Saint Marcellin cheese, lamb, trout, mountain honey, organic sourdough and ravioli… They can all be found at the market held on Thursday morning throughout the year and on Thursday and Saturday morning during the summer.

Grand-goulets-farm
Grands Goulets farm is located on La Chapelle en Vercors just 4km from the village and 1.5km from Grands Goulets tunnel. It is a goat farm processing cheese and beef. The goats graze around the farm from spring to fall. You will find various goat cheeses there.

Roche Rousse farm
Manufacture of Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage AOC, Roche Rousse, Saint Marcellin, fresh cheese, milk jam, yoghurts, faisselles, raw milk. Farm products

Mas Treetop farm
Cheeses made from Villard de Lans cow’s milk, Bleu du Vercors Sassenage (PDO), Cimarain (Gruyère type), farmhouse tommes, Bricks,… The farm has a herd of dairy cows of the “Villard de Lans” breed, a local Vercors breed, and a few Abondance cows; The milk from these cows is processed entirely on the farm into different cheeses. Bleu du Vercors sassenage AOC, farmhouse tommes, Brick, Cimarain (Gruyère type) White cheeses. Come and share a peasant moment by attending the milking in the evening at 6 p.m.

Bruyères farm
Cheeses sold at the farm: Saint Marcelin, cottage, peppered Tomme, Vercors farmhouse varieties. Farmhouse cheeses made from unpasteurized whole cow’s milk.

Magali Charruau
Farm sale: Walnuts and organic walnut oil, honey.

The Slalom Brewery
The Brasserie du Slalom is a 100% organic beer craft brewery. Blonde, Blanche, Ambrée, IPA and Double, Discover the whole range, exclusively organic, brewed in Vercors-Drôme by our Antoine. Depending on the mood and taste of each, our organic beers are available in several colors. In 33 cl and 75 cl bottles, to sip with friends at home or in local bars.

Cottinette Farm
We offer direct sales: veal, walnuts, walnut oil, apple juice

Peysson Georges
Farm sale: Walnuts and organic walnut oil, honey.

Gastronomy
Old fashioned ravioli
In our shop, you can also find local products: fresh pasta, quenelles, cooked dishes; but also a whole selection of delicatessen products from local know-how. Also discover a whole range of kitchen utensils for successful recipes: ravioli dishes, professional skimmer…

Vercors distillery
Discover the most secret steps of creating our whiskey. Initiatory journey into the heart of a French tradition: distiling. Everything is homemade at the Vercors Distillery: brewing, fermentation, distillation, aging in the cellars, bottling… To create an Organic Single Malt Whiskey. Eric has created a unique still in the world which distils at low temperature. This distillation sublimates the aromas of barley. Around the Distillery, Anne-Hélène cultivates the barley from the 100% house cuvée, all the products are organic and made with Vercors spring water…

Miellerie Vertaco
Honey and its derivatives. Sale at the farm: at the end of the afternoon. La Chapelle en Vercors market every Thursday morning

Ravioli from Grands Goulets
This family-run company makes local ravioli recipe using top quality products in exclusively artisanal preparation. You are sure to enjoy the authentic taste of ravioli from bygone times. A varied range adapted to everyone’s taste: in addition to traditional ravioli, we make ravioli with Vercors blue, porcini mushrooms, Beaufort, spinach, goat cheese, artichokes, snails and morels. They are sold fresh or frozen.

La Tosela
We grow wheat and rye in Vassieux en Vercors in organic farming. We transform the harvest into flour with our stone mill then into sourdough bread.

Natural heritage

Geology
The Vercors Massif is basically made up of limestone rocks, with plateaus and cliffs as its dominating features. Le Vercors appeared when the Alps were formed. The movement to the west and east of the rock that makes up Le Vercors gave rise to the landform we see today. The chasms, caves and swallowholes have greatly added to the renown of Le Vercors in the caving world. The limestone rock has been carved out to form gorges and several underground chasms through erosion. The limestone pavements which are a result of the surface limestone being dissolved, give a unique aspect to the landscape.

Wild Life
Wildlife flourishes in Le Vercors. Species from the north and south, high mountains and cliffs, aquatic species and those linked to farming all live side by side in this region. The Vercors Massif is home to the most diverse and rich range of flora in the French Prealps. 1,500 plant species are listed, including lavender, edelweiss and a range of different orchids. Depending on the soil, the climate, the exposure, you will find different types of forests. You might find charms, oaks, beeches, firs, spruce, pines…

The Vercors National Park
The Vercors Park stands at the outpost of the French Alps, covers 205,000ha and 85 municipalities.. A few passes and deep caves, both providing access to a range of varied landscapes where untouched and developed areas are combined, sculpted by generations of farmers, pastoralists and foresters. It was with the aim of reconciling natural and cultural heritage with economical development that the Vercors was classified as a ‘Regional Natural Park’ in 1970. The Park is involved in the managment of natural areas, animals, agriculture, tourism, local workshops ….

Created in 1985, the 17,000-hectare Vercors High Plateaus Natural Reserve remains the largest land-based metropolitan reserve in France to this day. It is the wild heart of the Vercors, where there are no roads or permanent homes. Located at the foot of Grand Veymont (the highest point in the Vercors at 2,341 m), it is home to many remarkable species. Marmots, black grouse (the Park’s symbol along with a wild tulip) and golden eagles can all be found here. It is also a place of scientific interest.

GR91 and GR93 as well as GTV routes enable you to cross the Natural Reserve, a paradise for hikers, from east to west and from north to south. Please note that access to water is infrequent, especially in mid-summer when the springs can dry up. Unmanned shelters (without water or electricity) are available (bunks, wooden stoves…).

Natural site of the Grotte de la Luire
The Luire cave offers a unique form of guided tour: a timeless voyage filled with sensations and emotions into the heart of a geological phenomenon unlike any other in the world. Once you have made your candle, you will make your way into the bowels of the Luire by lamplight, following in the footsteps of its first explorers over a century ago. Your guide will then let you experience the same emotions as these first adventurers did by showing you the impressive mysteries of the Luire and the dangers of exploring it. He will then bring you back to the modern day with a son et lumière show and a slide show that will give you an idea of the sheer scale of the phenomenon.

The Garden of Petrifying Fountains
In order to preserve the integrity of the local curiosities which for a long time of the village, the Jardin des fontaines Pétrifiantes was created in 1994. This garden is established within a unique setting in France, enclosed between Isère and a cliff from which flow waterfalls and waterfalls whose water over time has dug gours (small basins). A true paradise with a thousand sources for a vast botanical world tour. Rare plants from Asia, Africa, America, Australia… acclimatized in a sumptuous natural setting of ponds and waterfalls. Magical moment where water becomes stone.

Discover the intimacy of this mineral paradise where nature is not tamed by the gardener, but revisited by his creative thought, with the sole goal of protecting the earth’s vegetal mantle. For almost a thousand years, these mysterious sources have had the particularity of covering with a film of calcite crystals all the objects, mosses, plants located in their path to form a curious rock: tuff. Harmony of water, flowers, wood and rock. Around this rock, a harmonious and original combination, more than 800 species of flowers and plant forms invites you for a real botanical world tour where exotic, Mediterranean, aquatic and tropical plants come together. A floral, vegetal symphony, punctuated by water, initially discreet in large calm pools and ending in a cascading spray of foam.

Botanical village: mountain perennials
Influenced by its climate, the Chapelle en Vercors has chosen “mountain perennials” as its theme. These herbaceous plants survive large variations in temperature. Sometimes disappearing completely in winter, they are reborn in spring. Among the immensity of the species and the diversity of the colors, according to their size and their requirement, you will discover that they line the slopes, dress a rockery, play with shade and light and transform every corner of the garden. Became Botanical Village of the Drôme in 2012, a group of volunteers from the “Lou Vioulé” association have been working there since 2009.

Vassieux gardens
The creative gardeners of Vassieux offer you in the village and its surroundings a poetic collection of houses or hamlets which will take you into unknown worlds. Discover them and imagine their inhabitants.

Draye Blanche prehistoric park
Ces animaux extraordinaires ont côtoyé l’homme, jusqu’aux temps récents. Des mammouths aux ours des cavernes, venez découvrir leur histoire en grandeur nature.

Grotte de la Draye Blanche
Paleontological site. All forms of concrtions, stalagmitic casc ades.

The Choranche cave
Between Pont-en-Royans and Villard de Lans, in the heart of the Gorges de la Bourne, enter a magical world and discover an underground world with emerald and crystalline reflections, where the galleries light up to the rhythm of your steps. Along two underground rivers, discover the fistulous stalactites, real calcite straws, present by the thousands in the cavity: a unique spectacle in Europe. During your visit, you will meet proteas, amazing cave animals… The gigantic Hall of the Cathedral will welcome you at each visit for a sound and light show, colorful and rich in emotions.

Thais cave
15,000 years of human adventure from Cro-Magnon to today. Spectacular colors, underground river, archeology, speleology. One of the most colorful caves in France.

Boat Trip
Wheel boat “Royans-Vercors”, one of the most beautiful cruises in Rhône-Alpes. A short distance from Grenoble, near St-Marcellin and as far as St Nazaire en Royans, the Isère offers the unexpected aspect of a landscape that looks like a “bayou” where the Mississippi-style wheeled boat glides on calm water. Discovery of the flora and fauna of fresh water and the architectural heritage of the villages of Sône and St Nazaire en Royans (departure possible from these two villages). In the background, the vertiginous cliffs of the Vercors and the red rocks of Royans, commented, of course, by our crew. Plan a few good hours and binoculars to fully enjoy this nature break and discover the birds. You can combine the boat cruise with the Grotte de Thaïs and the Jardin des Fontaines Pétrifiantes.