www.valence-romans-tourisme.com/en. Valence is the capital of the lavender-scented Drôme region. Rabelais was a student here, and young Napoléon Bonaparte kicked off his military career at the artillery school.

Pedestrianized Vieux Valence has its share of attractive shopping streets and Renaissance houses, such as the fulsomely decorated Maison des Têtes. At the bottom of the street, the Cathédrale de Saint-Apollinaire, was founded in 1095. Behind it, in the old Bishop’s Palace, the Musée de Valence displays local history exhibits and 18thC drawings by Hubert Robert, www.museedevalence.fr.