The Rhone River rises in Switzerland, flows into the eastern part of Lake Geneva, and passes into France through the city of Geneva at the lake’s western end.
The village has not been modernised and its appearance is still as it must have been in medieval times
From Geneva it snakes its way to Lyon, where it is joined by the Saone River, and then heads due south until it discharges into the Gulf of Lyon in the Mediterranean.
For much of its length the Rhone is wide, slow-moving and industrialised, but despite its undoubted economic importance, its image lacks the glamour of the Loire with its collection of fabulous castles, or of the Seine, which has Paris on its banks.
Nevertheless the Rhone has a great variety of touristic attractions.
The area east of the river south of Valence is a beautiful region of wooded mountains and hills, with lavender fields in the hollows.
It also contains numerous pretty hilltop villages, many of them with a fascinating history. One such village, which bears the curious name Le Poët-Laval, is situated 23km east of Montelimar along the D540 road, on a steep hillside in the valley of the river Jabron overlooking wooded foothills.
The modern part of the village, pleasant but unremarkable, lies south of the D540. A narrow winding road to the north leads to the highly atmospheric old village.
In the 12th century the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, the forerunners of what later evolved into the Order of Malta, decided to establish a commandery on the hill of Poet-Laval and built a castle at the top of the village, surrounded by defensive walls.
The castle included a massive donjon, or keep. In addition to the role of an important command post in the region, in the time of the Crusades the village also served as a staging post and refuge for pilgrims leaving for the Holy Land.
It was extended in the 13th century and eventually the Knights of Malta adopted it as a base and restored the defences.
After the French Revolution it was sacked, but fortunately the impressively large donjon suffered no significant damage. For long periods, France was riven by violent struggles between Protestants and Catholics and for many years Le Poet-Laval was a Protestant stronghold.
A Museum of Protestantism, which records the history of the Protestant religion in the region since the Reformation, is housed in a 14th-century mansion, formerly privately owned.
In the 19th century the village was abandoned, but in 1924 it was classified as a protected monument. This led to the restoration of many of the old houses along the narrow cobbled main street and, as often happens in these cases, many of them have become art galleries and craft workshops. Currently there are about 800 residents.
The former commander’s residence has been converted into a comfortable hotel, not surprisingly named Les Hospitaliers
The village has not been modernised and its appearance is still as it must have been in medieval times. Entrance through the ramparts is by way of a fortified gateway into streets that are barely wide enough for a car. In any case one must park outside since vehicles are not allowed in the village.
Inside there is an intriguing web of streets, alleys, stairs, under-passages and even some Roman remains. There are no shops except for a library and tea room in an old house. An International Art and Activities Centre was opened in 1995 and every year it hosts concerts and a summer exhibition.
The former commander’s residence has been converted into a comfortable hotel, not surprisingly named Les Hospitaliers. When we arrived at the hotel the lady in charge looked us over curiously and told us she was very pleased to meet us as we were the very first Maltese she had seen.
The hotel has a good restaurant, a swimming pool, and enjoys fine views over the surrounding countryside. The spacious rooms are pleasantly furnished in antique style.
Between the hotel and the keep there is a large courtyard, partly covered, used for summer dining or merely for guests to sit in, enjoying the sun, for a read or a coffee in daytime.
The hotel is a good place to relax quietly for some days and one can also use it as a base from which to take day trips to explore the many attractive places that are within easy reach by car.
On the slopes are some of the most famous vineyards of the Rhone, where wines like the renowned Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the full reds of Gigondas and Vaqueyras are produced.
Valence, Montelimar and Orange are all places with a great deal of charm.
Avignon has a massive Palace of the Popes and a bridge celebrated in song.
Just 30km to the west of Avignon lies Pont du Gard, a bridge aqueduct with three tiers of arches, 49 metres high overall and 275 metres long, built over 2,000 years ago and a marvel of Roman engineering.
Arles has a Roman theatre and arena, both well preserved.
Well before entering the sea, the Rhone forks into two, and between the forks lies the Camargue, an extensive nature park comprising some 930 square kilometres of salt lakes and wetland, home to a great variety of small wild animals, semi-free black bulls and white horses, and very many bird species, notably pink flamingos that are rare in Europe. It is a paradise for nature lovers.