Holiday homes in Les Pilles

Les Pilles sits in the Drôme (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), in the Drôme Provençale and the Parc naturel régional des Baronnies provençales, about 6 to 7 km upstream of Nyons. The village is a site inscrit aux Bâtiments de France, split by the Eygues into two banks linked by a stone bridge. On the right bank, the old village follows a single street between rock and river, with façades and doors whose oldest date from the 17th century; at the end stands the 1870 church in Romanesque style, noted for its stained glass. Across the bridge on the left bank, the right-bank houses overhang the river and the ruins of the 14th-century castle rise above. A striking sight is the chained rock (rocher enchaîné): three old forged chains hold a huge boulder above the row of houses. From May to November there is a producers' market on Monday evenings. Nearby Nyons, the olive capital, and the trails of the Baronnies are close at hand. A rural, authentic base for villa guests combining Drôme Provençale, river scenery and a Provençal feel.