Montélimar: The Capital of Nougat and the Palace of the Adhémars
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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200
XP
+100 France
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1 day
Montélimar: The Capital of Nougat and the Palace of the Adhémars
200 + 100 XP
Nougat has been recorded at Montélimar since 1701, when the dukes of Burgundy and Berry stopped here on the ride back from Spain and were handed a quintal of it — 42 kg. About a dozen nougatiers still work in the town, two industrial and ten artisan, turning out some 4,500 tonnes a year and employing around 300 people; to carry the protected Nougat de Montélimar name, the sweet must hold at least 30% almonds or green pistachios and take a quarter of its sweetening from honey. On the promontory above, the Adhémar family turned their castle into a palace in the second half of the 12th century, and its seigneurial lodging survives as a rare example of a complete Romanesque palace.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Buy nougat from one of the artisan makers in the town and read the label against the rule: at least 30% almonds or green pistachios, a quarter of the sweetening from honey. Then taste a soft bar against a hard one and decide which you would carry home
2
of 5
At the Palais des Bonbons, du Nougat et des souvenirs, find the old nougat-making equipment and the collection of boxes, including the one shaped like an N7 kilometre marker post that the town's makers packed nougat in for the Route Nationale 7 traffic
3
of 5
In the Romanesque palace of the Adhémar, compare the two great halls stacked on each other — the lower aula under its plafond à la française, and the 125 m2 upper hall with its run of wide windows and loggia facing west — and work out why both were turned towards the town rather than the valley
4
of 5
Find the Android Nougat statue Google gave the town on 21 September 2016 — it stands beside the theatre on the avenue Charles de Gaulle and is not the same figure as the one at the Googleplex
5
of 5
In the castle enclosure, find the 11th-century church whose nave was turned into a powder magazine in the 16th century while its north end stayed a chapel, and the walls of the prison the fortress became for the whole of the 19th century, until 1926
Buy nougat from one of the artisan makers in the town and read the label against the rule: at least 30% almonds or green pistachios, a quarter of the sweetening from honey. Then taste a soft bar against a hard one and decide which you would carry home
At the Palais des Bonbons, du Nougat et des souvenirs, find the old nougat-making equipment and the collection of boxes, including the one shaped like an N7 kilometre marker post that the town's makers packed nougat in for the Route Nationale 7 traffic
In the Romanesque palace of the Adhémar, compare the two great halls stacked on each other — the lower aula under its plafond à la française, and the 125 m2 upper hall with its run of wide windows and loggia facing west — and work out why both were turned towards the town rather than the valley
Find the Android Nougat statue Google gave the town on 21 September 2016 — it stands beside the theatre on the avenue Charles de Gaulle and is not the same figure as the one at the Googleplex
In the castle enclosure, find the 11th-century church whose nave was turned into a powder magazine in the 16th century while its north end stayed a chapel, and the walls of the prison the fortress became for the whole of the 19th century, until 1926
Before you go
Outside July and August the Palais des Bonbons closes over the middle of the day — last morning admission is around 11:30 and it reopens at 14:00. On Mondays it does not open until the afternoon. In early January it runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only.
The Château des Adhémar is a departmental site with its own hours and closed days, and the contemporary art centre that used to be in it ran only until 2017 — check what is on before planning an afternoon there.
Artisan nougat shops keep normal French shop hours and many close for lunch and on Sunday afternoons.
Montélimar sits between two nuclear power stations, Cruas 10 km north and Tricastin 30 km south; emergency information is posted locally and worth a glance if you are staying in the area.
The castle on the promontory now trades as the Château de Montélimar rather than the Château des Adhémar, and it publishes a day-by-day calendar rather than a season — October to January are all covered, so it does run through the winter, typically 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm with a midday break. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing and that applies to the lunchtime break too, so arriving at midday gets you nothing. Check the calendar on châteaudemontelimar.fr for the day you want.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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