Driving and hiking the Ardeche Gorge

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
2
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
5
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
65 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
231st/457
Top 50%
continent
Europe
country
France
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$30 (typically $20 - $40)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Canyons Driving River Experience
All Tags
Caves Cliffs Forests Hiking River swimming Swimming UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐

Summary

The Ardeche Gorge is impressive, for sure.  A snaking 32km stretch of river with dramatic limestone pillars and cliffs, prehistoric caves (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the massive arch of the Pont d’Arc. Unfortunately, I just found it a touch dull and a let down compared to the spectacular scenery only a couple of hours away in the Alps. It’s worth it if passing through, but wouldn’t go massively out the way to experience it.

 

My main tip though – we drove it, which, again, was nice. But I imagine a day kayaking down it would be a different experience all together.

 

Ardeche Gorge - the route map

Ardeche Gorge Highlights

Ardeche Gorge - #1 Swimming under the Pont d’Arc. Pretty cool

#1 Swimming under the Pont d’Arc. Pretty cool

Ardeche Gorge - #2 Driving along the around 1hour drive that snakes its way along the gorge. Plenty of opportunities for viewpoints

#2 Driving along the around 1hour drive that snakes its way along the gorge. Plenty of opportunities for viewpoints

Ardeche Gorge - #3 Taking a mini hike along the waterfront

#3 Taking a mini hike along the waterfront

Experiences Nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

Other Canyon and Gorge Experiences

Cycling down the Taroko Gorge

4WDing across the Hajar Mountains via Hatt

Hiking and zip-lining in the Colca Canyon

Western Madagascar Adventure – Tsingy, Baobabs and Lemurs

Camping in otherworldly Karijini National Park

Hiking through the Charyn Canyon and staying overnight in yurts

Walking Jebel Sham’s Wadi Ghul canyon

Three gorges cruise down the Yangzi River

The Blue Mountains on a train from Sydney

Looking across the Grand Canyon

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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