11th cent., and some houses of the 15th and 16th cents. About 350 yards from the town, at the foot of a rock, rises the spring Fontaine de Tournes, which, after turning various mills, flows into the Rhône. About 20 ft. above it is a much effaced sculpture in relief, representing the sacrifice of a bull to the god Mithras.
LYONS
NÎMES 115 57 [ST. JUST] and St. Marcel station, from which both towns are less than a mile, but in different directions. 2½ m. from the village of St. Just is St. Martin, pop. 600, on the left or N. bank of the Ardèche. A ferry-boat crosses the river. On the other side, a little farther up, is Aiguèze, pop. 450, with ruins of castle, and farther down St. Julien, but not seen from St. Martin.
Boats are hired at St. Martin to visit the caves of St. Marcel, 4½ m. up the river, or 3¾ m. W. from the village of St. Marcel. The price depends upon the time the visitors make the boat wait. The cave consists of a tunnel, 4¼ m. long, which here and there widens out into spacious lofty caverns hung with stalactites. Some parts are very steep, slippery, and fatiguing. The visit requires from 6 to 7 hours, and certainly none but ardent lovers of walking in dark caverns should undertake the labour. The sail, however, is pleasant. The nearest hotels are at Pont-Saint Esprit and at Bourg-St. Andéol.
Pont-St. Esprit.
LYONS
NÎMES 119 53 [PONT-ST. ESPRIT], pop. 5000. H. de l’Europe. Coach to La Croisière, on the other or east side of the Rhône. (See for bridge and Croisière [page 50].) Station of the steamboat between Lyons and Avignon. Pont-Saint Esprit, on the west side of the Rhône and on the western Rhône railway, makes a convenient and comfortable resting-place, with pleasant promenades by the side of the Rhône. Down from the bridge are the church of St. Pierre, now abandoned, and St. Saturnin, built in the 15th cent. Near it is the citadel, built between 1595 and 1620. Within, down a steep stair of 36 steps, are the remains of a chapel constructed in 1365, now a military storehouse. On the south side is a beautifully-sculptured portal, supported on each side by an elegant pinnacled buttress. The arch, 20 ft. span, is richly decorated. In the Hôtel Dieu (infirmary) are a few specimens of old (faïences) pottery. Carriage from the hotel to Valbonne (4½ m. S.W.) and back 15 frs. At Valbonne is a beautifully-situated Chartreuse convent with about 30 inmates. The drive is pleasant (see [map, page 56]).
Carriage also from the hotel to Saint Martin, on the Ardèche, 4½ m. N.W., there and back 12 frs. (For St. Martin see above.)
7½ m. south from Pont-St. Esprit is Bagnols-sur-Cèze, pop. 5000. H. du Louvre. Omnibus at station. A manufacturing town. Coach to Uzès, 17 m. W.
LYONS
NÎMES 132½ 39½ [LAUDUN], pop. 2200, about 2½ m. west from the station, and 10 m. from Orange, is built on a hill 350 ft. high. The vineyards in the neighbourhood produce a good white wine. Junction with branch to Alais, 35½ m. west, by Connaux, St. Pons, Cavillargues, Seyne, Celas, and Mejannes; small and uninteresting towns (see [map, p. 26]).
Roquemaure. Pont-d’Avignon.
LYONS
NÎMES 137½ 34½ [ROQUEMAURE], pop. 3100. Inns: H. du Nord; H. du Midi. Omnibus at station. Situated on the small branch of the Rhône which encircles the island of Mémar, 1¼ m. long. The best part of this curious old town is in the neighbourhood of the Hôtel du Midi, where are the public promenade with large trees, the great embankment to protect the town from the invasions of the Rhône, and the ruins of the old castle, of which the most remarkable part is the square tower perched on the point of a great rock. Orchards, vineyards, and mulberry groves surround the village. Roquemaure, however, like all the other small towns on the Rhône, has a dingy and untidy appearance. Clement V., first Pope of Avignon, died here in 1314. 5 m. W. is Taval, pop. 2200, where a good wine is made.