Our 12 favourite places around Beaufort-sur-Gervanne
What to do in the Drôme Vercors?
We live and work in Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, in the heart of the Vercors Regional Nature Park, on the Drôme side. These are the places we recommend to visitors to the chocolate workshop: a waterfall of over 70 metres, roads carved into the cliff face, perched villages, a 12th-century abbey and sites that tell the story of the Resistance maquis. For each one, you’ll find the drive from the chocolate workshop, how long to allow, the price and the best season.
12 places to visit around Beaufort-sur-Gervanne
They are listed from nearest to furthest, with one exception: us. Drive times are calculated from the chocolate workshop in good weather. In winter, the Col de la Bataille (D199) is closed and some journeys take 10 to 20 minutes longer. Before you set off, check road conditions and any access restrictions due to fire risk with the tourist offices.
Photo: Wansliya, cropped image, licence CC BY 4.0 The Druise waterfall and the Omblèze gorges
Omblèze, Drôme
Twenty minutes from the chocolate workshop, the Gervanne plunges more than 70 metres through a slit in the limestone into a turquoise pool: this is the Druise waterfall. The path starts from the car park, just before the hamlet of Ansage: a little under 2 km there and back, with 100 metres of climb, a steep descent and slippery final metres. Please don’t go into the water, as the pool is a spawning ground. On the way, take time to drive through the Omblèze gorges, protected along with the waterfall since 1991: 3 km of enclosed road and, 700 metres from the Moulin de la Pipe, the Pissoire waterfall.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 25 min (14 km)
- On site
- 1 h there and back
- Price
- Free
- Who it’s for
- Ages 6-7 and up, with good footwear; not suitable for pushchairs
- When to go
- Spring, when the flow is strongest; the car park fills up quickly in summer
Photo: Calips, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 The Crest tower
Crest, Drôme
At 52 metres, the Crest tower is “the tallest surviving keep in France”. The castle was dismantled in 1633 and the tower kept as a prison: Protestants were held here after 1685, earning it the nickname “Bastille of the South”, followed by opponents of the 1851 coup d’état. Climb to the top: the view stretches from the Drôme valley to the cliffs of the Vercors. In summer, the tower hosts “Évasions gourmandes” tastings, where you’ll find our chocolates. Crest, a gateway town to the Vercors Park, is then best explored on foot, from the lanes of the old town to the banks of the Drôme.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 30 min (16 km)
- On site
- 1 h
- Price
- Adults €10 (€11.50 in summer), children €4 to €7, free under 6 (2026)
- Who it’s for
- Families; steep stairs, no pushchairs or wheelchairs
- When to go
- April to October; weekends only from November to March
That’s us!The Frigoulette chocolate workshop, in Beaufort-sur-Gervanne
Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, Drôme
We’re not entirely impartial: ranked by distance we’d come first, and we’ve politely put ourselves third. In our chalet, at the end of the chemin des Bérangers, you can taste our organic, fair-trade chocolates for free, made right here with cocoa from São Tomé: bars, pralines and confectionery, vegan and gluten-free. Frigoulette is the wild thyme that grows all around. Afterwards, head up to the old village, 5 minutes away: its ramparts, its sundial tower and the place de la Fontaine, where the view stretches from the Vivarais to the Vercors, as far as the Saoû massif.
Directions to the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- You’re already here; the old village is 5 min away
- On site
- 30 min to 1 h, tasting included
- Price
- Free tasting, no booking needed
- Who it’s for
- Everyone, little gourmets included
- When to go
- Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Photo: Reinhardhauke, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Léoncel Abbey
Léoncel, Drôme
Over the Col de Bacchus, a small road leads in half an hour to this Romanesque abbey church set in a valley of mountain pastures, more than 900 metres above sea level. Twelve monks from Bonnevaux Abbey founded it in 1137; the church, consecrated in 1188, has been a listed historic monument since 1840. Its very plain interior is open every day. An easy stop to combine with the Ambel plateau or the Combe Laval road.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 30 min (22 km)
- On site
- 30 min to 1 h
- Price
- Free (voluntary donations for upkeep)
- Who it’s for
- Everyone
- When to go
- All year round, every day from 8.30am to 8pm
Photo: Ziegler175, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 The Saoû forest
Saoû, Drôme
Just south of the Drôme valley, outside the Vercors Regional Park but only 40 minutes from us, the Saoû forest is a perched syncline: a vast wooded basin, 12 km by 2.5, enclosed by cliffs and overlooked by the Trois Becs (1,589 metres at the Veyou). At its heart stands the Auberge des Dauphins, built in 1928 for Maurice Burrus, then owner of the estate, which has become the visitor centre of the site. People come for a stroll under the trees or for the long Pré de l’Âne hike (15.6 km, 6 hours).
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 45 min (27 km)
- On site
- Half a day to a full day
- Price
- Forest free; Auberge des Dauphins €5, free under 6 (2026)
- Who it’s for
- Family-friendly; dogs on leads
- When to go
- All year round; from 1 July to 15 September, access is restricted depending on fire risk; hunting on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Photo: Mhp1255, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Saillans, on the banks of the Drôme
Saillans, Drôme
On the road to Die, this village in the Drôme valley is best explored on a signposted 1.8 km historic trail: vaulted alleyways, the church of Saint-Géraud and a Roman milestone, both listed historic monuments. Saillans also made the news from 2014 to 2020 for its experiment in citizen-led governance. The pebbly banks of the Drôme invite you to linger; for swimming, ask locally: since August 2026 it has been forbidden at Cachepou because of falling rocks.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 30 min (21 km)
- On site
- 1 to 2 hours
- Price
- Free
- Who it’s for
- Everyone
- When to go
- All year round
Photo: Calips, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Die and Clairette de Die
Die, Drôme
Via the Quint valley, Die is 40 minutes away. The capital of the Diois still has about 2 km of late Roman ramparts, the Porte Saint-Marcel and its former cathedral, all of them listed. This is also the home of Clairette de Die: a sparkling wine made with a single fermentation, begun in the vat and finished in the bottle, mostly from Muscat grapes. At the edge of town, the Jaillance cellar tells the story of this ancestral method in its MuséObulles tour, tasting included. Jaillance is, incidentally, one of our partners.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 40 min (30 km) to the Jaillance cellar
- On site
- 45 min for the cellar, 1 to 2 hours for the old town
- Price
- Town free; MuséObulles €5, free under 16, booking required on 04 75 22 30 15
- Who it’s for
- Family-friendly: alcohol-free tasting for children
- When to go
- All year round
Photo: peupleloup (Mickaël Brangeon), licence CC BY-SA 2.0 The Ambel plateau
Omblèze, Drôme
Above the Omblèze gorges, this great mountain pasture of 1,232 hectares, owned by the Département since 1954, is billed as the “first maquis in France”: the site was chosen in December 1942 and the first draft resisters arrived in January 1943. You climb up via Léoncel and the Col de la Bataille to the Gardiol refuge, where the circuit of the plateau begins. Keep your eyes peeled: the plateau is home to nearly half of the world’s known Dauphiné broom plants, and a wolf pack has been observed here since 2002.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 45 min (33 km)
- On site
- 4 hours for the circuit of the plateau (15 km)
- Price
- Free
- Who it’s for
- Confident walkers; livestock and guard dogs; dogs not allowed from 1 June to 30 October
- When to go
- May to October: the Col de la Bataille road is closed in winter
Photo: Flylikehell, licence CC BY-SA 4.0 The Combe Laval road
Saint-Jean-en-Royans, Drôme
Cut in the late 19th century, the Combe Laval road clings to the cliff above a valley head more than 4 km long, with eleven tunnels hewn through the rock. The finest views are at the Col de la Machine (1,011 metres) and at the viewpoint just below. At the bottom of the combe, an Orthodox monastery was founded in 1978. The road is narrow and exposed, closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes: drive slowly and keep children close at the viewpoint.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 1 h 05 (52 km); 1 h 15 in winter, via Saint-Jean-en-Royans
- On site
- 20 to 30 min at the viewpoint, longer to drive the whole road
- Price
- Free
- Who it’s for
- Everyone, from the road
- When to go
- All year round; occasional closures after rockfalls
Photo: Philipendula, licence CC BY 2.5 The Col de Rousset
Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors, Drôme
At the Col de Rousset, the landscape changes all at once: to the north, the wooded Vercors; to the south, the light of the Diois and the hairpins of the road winding down to Die. The road tunnel, at 1,249 metres, was opened in 1979; on foot, the pass peaks at 1,367 metres. In summer, the resort’s chairlift climbs to viewpoint indicators along a wheelchair-accessible path, and a rail toboggan rushes down a 760-metre slope. In winter, the resort opens its 26 ski runs.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 1 h 05 (51 km), via Die
- On site
- Half a day with the chairlift and a walk
- Price
- Viewpoint free; chairlift €8.80 adults, €5.60 ages 3 to 14; toboggan €6.70
- Who it’s for
- Family-friendly; toboggan alone from age 8 and 1.30 m tall
- When to go
- Chairlift in July and August; skiing from mid-December to mid-March
Photo: MOSSOT, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Vassieux-en-Vercors and the Resistance Memorial
Vassieux-en-Vercors, Drôme
In July 1944, the fighting in the Vercors destroyed 140 of Vassieux’s 150 houses, and the village is one of only five communes named Compagnon de la Libération. At the Col de la Chau, at 1,300 metres, the Resistance Memorial tells the story of the maquis with helmets and audioguides, in a building set into the hillside and awarded the “Architecture contemporaine remarquable” label. The neighbouring necropolis, open to all, holds 187 graves. In the village, the Museum of Prehistory is built on a flint-knapping workshop about 4,500 years old.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 1 h 10 (57 km); 1 h 20 in winter, via the Col de Rousset
- On site
- 1.5 to 2 hours at the Memorial, 1 hour at the museum
- Price
- €8 adults, €5 children, for each of the two sites (2026)
- Who it’s for
- Good for families; Memorial accessible by wheelchair
- When to go
- Memorial open nearly all year (closed from mid-November to mid-December); museum closed in winter
Photo: Ziegler175, licence CC BY-SA 3.0 The Cirque d’Archiane
Châtillon-en-Diois, Drôme
At the end of a little road in the Diois, the hamlet of Archiane nestles at the foot of an amphitheatre of cliffs rising to 1,820 metres at the Tête du Jardin. The view is immediate from the car park. To see it up close, allow 2 h 30 for the walk around the cirque, and the same for the Vultures’ Trail (5 km, 370 metres of ascent). Look up: the cirque is home to the largest colony of griffon vultures in the Vercors, as well as ibex reintroduced in 1989 and 1990. It has been a protected site since 2025.
Directions from the chocolate workshop- From the chocolate workshop
- About 1 h 20 (57 km), via Die
- On site
- A few minutes for the view, 2 h 30 for the walk around the cirque
- Price
- Free
- Who it’s for
- The view is for everyone; paths not suitable for pushchairs; dogs not allowed in the reserve
- When to go
- All year round
For a full day out, a little further afield
More than an hour’s drive away, the Vercors still has some lovely detours in store. On the Isère side, there are the houses of Pont-en-Royans perched above the Bourne, the Choranche cave with its thousands of straw stalactites, and the Mont Aiguille (2,087 metres), whose first ascent in 1492 is said to mark the birth of mountaineering. On the Drôme side, the Grands Goulets are now crossed through a tunnel: the old road is closed to everyone, walkers included. And for keen walkers, there is the Hauts-Plateaux nature reserve, the largest in mainland France.
A gourmet stop on your way
The chocolate workshop is on the road to La Druise and Omblèze, 5 minutes from the old village of Beaufort. Free tastings with no booking needed, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.
Plan your visit