The road climbs up among scrubby hills north of Donzère, and before dropping down to the river level again gives a magnificent view over the great valley, with a straight white ribbon going across the flat ground to the town of MONTÉLIMAR There are no remains of the Roman town of _Acunum,_ and there is scarcely anything that is not quite modern in the streets. The chief relic of the Middle Ages is the château of the great family of Adhemar, now unfortunately converted into a prison. It contains considerable remains of a Romanesque chapel dedicated to St. Agatha. The Tour de Narbonne, standing on higher ground than the other buildings, was added in the fourteenth century as a second keep. Two gateways of the town ramparts, one of them rebuilt in recent times, and two good houses belong to the fifteenth or the following century. The well-known almond ‘nougat’ of Montélimar is sold in several shops in the Grand Rue and elsewhere in the town. North of Montélimar the road runs close to the banks of the Rhone, and then turns away slightly to Saulce, where there are mosaics and other remains of the Roman station of _Batiana._ A little to the left of the road is the old château of Freycinet, from which the well-known politician obtained his name. After passing Loriol the road crosses the Drôme and goes through Livron, an interesting little town, with the ruins of its castle and remains of its fortifications, besieged in 1574-75 by the rigidly Catholic but excessively dissolute Henri III. The Protestants of Livron successfully held out during three assaults, and Henri retired ignominiously. Just beyond Livron there is _a bad cassis,_ and another occurs at the next village. The straightness of the road between Livron and Valence no doubt encourages scorching, and these shallow drains over the road, with their conspicuous warnings [Illustration: THE ROMAN ARCH AT ORANGE. One of the finest outside Rome.] to motor-drivers, serve their purpose admirably in protecting human life in the villages. The humanitarian therefore cries ‘Vive le cassis!’ In spring-time the blossom of the peach, apricot, and cherry gives a pink-and-white blush to the valley, making a strong contrast to the gaunt rocks on the west side of the river. The mulberry is extensively grown for the silkworm, and the trees are constantly passed from Orange northwards. SECTION XXI VALENCE TO ST. ÉTIENNE, 58¼ MILES (94 KILOMETRES) DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE Kil. Miles. =Valence= to Tournan =18= 11¼ =Tournan= to Andance =21= 13 =Andance= to Annonay =13= 8 =Annonay= to Bourg-Argental =16= 10 =Bourg-Argental= to St. Étienne =26= 16 ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO PARIS, 368½ MILES (602 KILOMETRES) If there is too much snow on the Cevennes to make the St. Étienne route possible, the following road will be available: DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE