Viviers - Market in Valence

Our next stop takes us to Valence.

We want to stay for a few days at the Marina The Épervière, the largest inland yacht harbor in France.

On the way from Viviers there, we have about 60 km and 3 locks ahead of us, with a planned travel time of 5-6 hours. Complicating matters on our travel day is a weather forecast predicting headwinds of force 5-6 and gusts up to wind force 8, persisting for the next 2-3 days.

Although we leave Viviers at Ententeich, the fresh breeze quickly turns into strong winds after the second lock. The approach from below the locks is sheltered by the structure itself, and entering the lock chamber is problem-free, but the last 6 meters of elevation in the lock chamber hint at what is happening above in the Rhône valley.

All in all, we make good and relatively trouble-free progress, but we still need to dock at the harbor, and a decrease in the breeze is not in sight, rather the opposite.

We’ve already selected the suitable head dock on Google Maps; now it just needs to be free. The docking maneuver didn’t work out on the first attempt; we were almost stuck when a gust caught us unexpectedly, and Gustav was sideways. On the second attempt, we fared better; the head dock was also free.

After we made fast, there was a “well-deserved” dock beer, registration at the Capitanerie, and peace for the rest of the day.

In Valence, the next day we visited the old town; on Friday there was a small walk and on Saturday there was a remarkable market around Place des Clercs.

The description of Valence in the travel guides might be a bit exaggerated, but the city offers many shops and cafés, so you can easily spend a few hours there.

The Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire is an impressive structure, although getting inside it is not so easy. We could not find the access to the facade in the west, and the entrance to the church is inconspicuous on the south side. The construction is impressive, and the history of the church goes back to the 9th century.

Valence is characterized by colorful activity; unlike before in Montélimar, the city is alive.

Definitely worth a visit; we spent two days there, mainly to wait out the storm, but we also deserved some peace.