Tournon sur Rhone / Vienne

Tournon/Vienne is beautiful, situated between the river and terraced (and blanketed) granite slopes of vineyards. As often in this area, an ancient castle sits above, overlooking the settlement, around since Celtic times. Julius Ceasar turned this Celtic area into a Roman colony in 47 BC, and it became a crossroad of commerce, a cultural and intellectual hub of the area and also an important strategic outpost.

There was a morning excursion called "Tournon Steam Train" that I had signed up for, aboard the Train de L'Ardeche. The train runs along the Doux valley for 33 kilometers from Tournon St-Jean to Lamastre - the inauguration ofthis run took place on July 12, 1891. It was built by about 1,000 workers who used picks, shovels, and some dynamite, along with some donkeys as well. The group engineered and built 8 masonry viaducts, 8 km of supporting walls and 4 tunnels to create a way to move workers, passengers, goods (mainly woods), and mail.

The excursion went part of the way, and then we watched the front car be detached, turned (very interesting) and moved down to what had been the rear of the train, and then headed back to where we started. There was definitely soot, and some of the spots we went through looked a little scary. I took so many pictures (absolutely breathtaking views) but here are just a few.

Once back, there was time for a walking tour...

complete with the cathedral. Yet another cathedral (Cathedral Saint-Maurice). The original church on this spot had stood since the 4th century, and the current cathedral was begun around 1130, taking almost 500 years to complete. In this case, the exterior is Gothic, but the interior is Romanesque.

Just as an aside, Pope Clement V organized the Council of Vienne in 1312, with a principal outcome of abolishing the Knights Templar. Apparently, politics was rampant even in the 14th century, as the story we were told is that the Pope was pressured by France's Philip IV, who owed the Templars money and wanted their land. Some things never change.

And finally, another beautiful sunset!