A museum like no other
Start your tour with a visit to the Musée Laïque d'Art Sacré de Pont-Saint-Esprit. Far from being a classic Fine Arts museum, the establishment somewhat removes the conventions of museums by approaching sacred art in an original way, mixing objects, traditions, periods and countries. A playful visit underlined by the magnificence of the place that is the House of the Knights. 15th century ceremonial rooms and painted ceilings illustrating the imagination of the men of the Middle Ages punctuate your visit.
Take the quays of the Rhône out of the roundabout. After walking along the quays, turn right and walk up the boulevard for about 400 m, then turn left towards Saint-Etienne-des-Sorts. Continue on the D138. After 400 m join the Chemin des Sources on the right in the bend. Continue straight on, pass under a bridge then turn right and twice left, and finally straight on for several kilometres. After a slight climb, you will reach the village of Vénéjan.Vénéjan, " Small City of Character "
With this label, Vénéjan underlines its authenticity, which also knows how to be atypical, and highlights its history, its art of living and its heritage. Vénéjan is a small village perched a few hundred meters from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, whose narrow streets rise up to its castle and its Romanesque chapel. The feudal castle, now privately owned, dates back to the 11th century. Take a walk through the old ruins of the village: they are a pleasant walk through Mediterranean gardens and old cobbled streets that will lead you to the chapel of Saint Jean-Baptiste. Romanesque in style, its 12th century foundations have been altered many times over the centuries. The chapel preserves in its heart very beautiful paintings of the XIVth century, rare polychromies of which the village is proud. The cemetery chapel of Saint-Pierre, also privately owned, is remarkable for its sculptures and barbaric ornaments from the 12th century. Before getting on your bikes, make a stop near the pretty windmill of the village. Perfectly restored, it contains a very complex wooden mechanism used to operate a stone millstone. A witness to the ancestral know-how of the men of this countryside. From this plateau, continue the circuit.
Go through the housing estates on the road to the plateau and continue straight ahead for several kilometres to reach Saint-Etienne des Sorts.A village on the Rhone
Living to the rhythm of the king river, Saint-Etienne-des-Sorts has preserved the appearance of the ancient river cities of yesteryear. Although angry, the Rhône has given rhythm to the economic attractiveness of the city. Nowadays, with its river stop welcoming cruise ships and yachtsmen, the village is forging its future in river tourism. And what better way to admire the river and its valley than from the top? 300 metres north of the village is the Saint-Pierre site: there, a natural belvedere, from which the remains of a watchtower emerge, offers a striking panorama of the Rhône Valley. From the Luberon to the Vivarais and from the Cévennes to the Mont Ventoux, the geography of the area is revealed before your eyes.
Go back towards the Château du Jonquier climb to reach the village of Chusclan, still going straight on. After crossing a pine forest, take the road that descends steeply towards the village: be careful, the route is chaotic.Chusclan
Famous for its AOC Côtes du Rhône Village wines, Chusclan is a picturesque village with pretty flowered streets, stone arches and paved squares. Between the right bank of the Rhône and the left bank of the Cèze, Chusclan reveals its treasures of walks to discover the vestiges of its past. A path winds through the vineyards and forest; leading to a plateau, it will take you past the old chapel built in the 13th century and dedicated to Sainte-Madeleine. Then linger on towards the ruins of the castle of Gicon: situated on the ancient oppidum, they overlook the village, the Rhone Valley, and in the distance,
the lace of Mont-Mirail and Mont-Ventoux. The circuit resumes in the direction of Codolet. Take the path of Monticaud on the right when leaving the village in the direction of Saint-Etienne-des-Sorts. At the end of this road, turn right and follow the RD765 for a few meters, then in the bend turn right and join the stony country road at the beginning, which goes downwards. Continue for several kilometres, always straight ahead, with a narrow passage under a bridge (beware, it is sometimes flooded in rainy weather), to arrive in Codolet.Codolet, village of character
Codolet is a Provencal island in the middle of the vineyards. With the Rhône and the Cèze as its neighbours, the little village is proud of its authenticity, and invites you to take a stroll near its lake, a refreshing interlude on your Mediterranean tour. The return to Pont-Saint-Esprit is done by the route taken at the start.
