Camping in Ardèche

Origin of camping in the Ardèche

The first tourists in the Ardèche were not Dutch people, as you might think. No, the first tourists were Neanderthals who came to the famous tourist site of the Chauvet cave for a sun cure. We still have access to the numerous posters of theme evenings that they painted on the vast walls of the cave, which was then used as a campsite in the Ardèche. Ahhh! What a time, that of the races against the sabre-toothed tigers, the mammoth rodeo and other playful activities of this generation of campers in the Ardèche.

Who were the first camping tourists in the Ardèche?

However, camping in the Ardèche was neglected for many eras. It was only revived in 218 BC. Hannibal and his circus of about 60,000 men and 37 elephants, coming from Spain, pitched their tents on the plain of Roquemaure, on the banks of the Rhône. Disturbed by the Gauls of Gard who were squatting on the opposite banks of the river, Hannibal sent 10,000 of his men, led by Captain Hannon, to make them evacuate the area. Disappointed by the lack of tranquillity that reigned on the banks of the river at the time, they spent only two nights camping in the Ardèche before taking the road to the Alps to visit Italy.

tourist activity in Camping Ardèche 

Later the Romans decided to create holiday villages in the Ardèche, and so Alba-la-Romaines was born. Caesar himself came to admire the Ardèche landscape during his holidays. He enjoyed the arena in Nîmes and other attractions in the region.

Animation on a campsite in the Ardèche

In 52 BC the Helvians (the name of the Gauls who lived in the Ardèche), those proud warriors who are said to have inspired the adventures of Obelix and Asterix, restored the Ardèche campsite in tents in the middle of nowhere. Then they installed the first caravans pulled by oxen. These Gauls were great organizers of all kinds of festivities. We still remember the ones they organised. These were large parties, under the stars, around the Menhirs and Dolmens of the Ardèche, where the Helvians gathered to drink, eat, and finally remove their Grolles (Grolles is a colloquial Ardèche name for shoes). They then began to dance around the menhirs which they called "des Rocs". It was then that a great chief had the idea of naming this dance "Danse du Roc Aux Grolles" which later became Rock and Roll.

Family activities in Ardèche Camping

And so time went by... camping in the Ardèche was forgotten and theme parks were created such as Saint Etienne de Dion, a famous pirate village overlooking the Rhône, which was then the tin route. The park managers organised many activities such as attacking merchant ships on the river, looting cities, or fighting territorial militias. Everyone left with a souvenir, gold jewellery or scars from their joyful activities in the Ardèche.

Spending your holidays in a tent in Ardèche

It was not until the arrival of the Hospitallers and the Templars in the Ardèche that the pleasures of camping were rediscovered. Indeed, while one of the Popes (who, they later learned, was in fact Papess Joan) was in Avignon, the Cathars and Catholic tourists were at war. That the Cathars and the Catholic tourists were at war. The knights of the order began to set up a campsite in the Ardèche. Their first dwellings were tents, followed by the construction of their own tourist lodgings in the Gorges de l'Ardèche, some of which can still be visited, such as the Chapelle Saint Supplice or the remains of the Commanderie located in the commune of Saint Marcel d'Ardèche. Unfortunately the stays were payable only in cash and were not declared, which put them at the back of the national agencies which made them close shop on Friday October 13, 1307 for embezzlement.

why choose a 3 star campsite?

It was finally in 1966 that the "Camping les Truffières" was created to perpetuate an ancestral tradition of the region. It will give rise to many events marking the department such as one of the first Mousse evenings, and its famous Ardéchois Dahus hunts

Come and join the history of camping in the Ardèche during a stay on our Ardèche lands.