Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

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Coordinates: 44°24′28″N 4°23′40″E / 44.4077777778°N 4.39444444444°E / 44.4077777778; 4.39444444444

Administration
Commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

Location
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ardèche
Arrondissement	Largentière
Canton	Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Mayor	Claude Benahmed (2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation	60–434 m (200–1,400 ft) (avg. 118 m/390 ft)
Land area¹	28.62 km² (11.05 sq mi)
Population²	2,027 (1999)
- Density	71 /km² (180 /sq mi)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	07330/ 07150
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is a commune in the Ardèche department in southeastern France. Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is a capital of prehistoric and cultural tourism. This small village, peaceful in wintertime, sees its population multiply 10 times in summer. Its touristic importance largely comes from the fact that it is the departure point for the descent of the gorge of the Ardèche river (from Pont d'Arc to Saint-Martin-d'Ardeche

1 Geography
2 History
3 Administration
4 Demographics
5 Tourism
6 Events
7 Persons living in the community
8 See also
9 References

[edit] Geography

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is situated at the threshold of one of the most beautiful tourist sites of France: "les gorges de l'Ardèche" (the Ardèche canyon). The famous Pont d'Arc, a natural arch of more than 30 meters height, carved out by the Ardèche river and classified as Great Site of France, gave it its name.

[edit] History

1801: Saint-Martin-d'Arc renamed to Chames
1825: Chames renamed to Vallon
25 September 1948: Vallon becomes Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

[edit] Administration

List of mayors
Period	Name	Party
1989 - 1995	Jean-Pierre Ageron	socialist
1995 - 2001	Jean-Pierre Ageron	socialist
2001 - 2008	Pierre Peschier	right wing
2008 - 2014	Claude Benahmed	socialist
Prior data not yet known.

[edit] Demographics

Population trend
1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
1706	1831	1837	1787	1914	2027
Starting in 1962: Population without duplicates

[edit] Tourism

The Pont d'Arc
The Chauvet Cave is not open to the public. A exposition site, copied from the cave, is open to the public that can discover the oldest paleolithic paintings - 32.000 B.C. - and the lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon man[]
The museum of the Chauvet Cave
The town hall (a castle constructed in 1639 under Louis XIII) houses seven tapestries from Aubusson, showing the crusades, exhibited in the Hall of Honor
The Gorges de l'Ardèche
The Gorges de l'Archèche National Park

[edit] Events

The village is very lively, especially in summer, with in its center numerous shops and a market on Thursday and on Tuesday evening, which is known for its large success. Every summer, many events are organized: the lavender feast and the olive feast, prehistoric days with expositions, ateliers, conferences and presentations lasting for over a week after August 15.