France
Viviers
Viviers: A Bishops' Town on the Rhône
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Where Ships Moor
Viviers has a river quay where cruise ships and commercial boats can tie up, and several river cruise companies stop there every week between April and November. The town stands on the right bank of the Rhône in the Ardèche, where the Escoutay river flows in.
- Here the old course of the Rhône and the canalized arm meet, forming a wide stretch of water in front of the town.
- About 3,600 people live in Viviers.
- A suspension bridge of the 1950s, 275 meters long, crosses the Rhône to Châteauneuf-du-Rhône in the Drôme.
- Viviers is about 160 km south of Lyon.
Viviers on Your Own
Viviers is a walking stop, with the cathedral, the Renaissance house and the 18th-century mansions all in its old streets. The Roman bridge over the Escoutay makes a short extra walk.
- The cathedral: The cathedral of Saint-Vincent, on the chemin de Ronde, joins a Romanesque nave to a Flamboyant Gothic choir. Five of its Gobelins tapestries are still on view, and it is the only cathedral in France to have kept its canons' quarter intact.
- The Maison des Chevaliers: Noël Albert, a rich salt merchant, gave his house its carved Renaissance front in the 16th century. It is also called the Maison des Têtes.
- The 18th-century town: The former bishop's palace is now the town hall, and the Grande Rue is a street of 18th-century townhouses.
- The Roman bridge: The bridge crosses the Escoutay for 110 meters. Most of it is Roman, and three of its arches were replaced after floods.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
- Carry ID: In France you must be able to prove who you are when police ask, either on the spot or within four hours at a police station. A passport or a photocard driving license is accepted.
Tipping in France
Tipping is not expected in France, because the price of service is already included in restaurant bills by law. Leaving something extra is a choice, not an obligation, and the currency is the euro.
- When French diners do tip, they usually just round the bill up rather than add a percentage.
- A small tip for unusually good service is welcome but never required.
Culture and Local Life
Viviers is still a cathedral town: its bishop's diocese covers the whole Ardèche department. Its streets have ties to a priest, a painter and a pop star.
- Charles de Foucauld was ordained a priest in Viviers on June 9, 1901, and a statue recalls him.
- The painter Paul Signac stayed in Viviers several times between 1926 and 1931.
- Johnny Hallyday's mother is buried in Viviers, which is the reason given for a statue of the singer a few kilometers outside the town center.
- The swimming pool is named after Camille Muffat, the Olympic swimming champion.
History
Viviers began as a Roman supply post for the city of Alba, became the seat of the bishops when they moved here from Alba in late antiquity, and gave its name to the Vivarais. Its bishops were the strongest lords of the region for much of the Middle Ages, until the town passed to the French crown in 1307.
- A Roman name: The name comes from the Latin vivarium, after fish ponds built by the Romans on the banks of the Rhône to supply Alba Helviorum.
- The bishops arrive: Between the 3rd and 5th centuries the bishops left Alba for Viviers, which became the capital of the Helvii and then of the Vivarais. The Burgundians took the region around 476, and the Franks conquered the Burgundian kingdom in 534.
- Empire to kingdom: Viviers belonged to the Kingdom of Arles from 933 to 1032 and then to the Holy Roman Empire. It passed gradually to France between 1305 and 1308.
- The cathedral: Bishop Léger began rebuilding a ruined cathedral after his election in 1096, and Pope Calixtus II consecrated it on February 27, 1119, before it was finished.
- A Renaissance bishop: Claude de Tournon, bishop from 1516, rebuilt the choir in the Flamboyant Gothic style, and King Francis I visited in April 1533. Giuliano della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, had been bishop briefly in 1477 and 1478.
- Wars of religion: Noël Albert, the merchant of the Maison des Chevaliers, turned Protestant and led Huguenot forces that sacked the cathedral in 1567. He was beheaded in Toulouse in 1568.
- The bishops return: In the 18th century the bishops moved back into a new palace designed by Jean-Baptiste Franque, and mansions such as the Hôtel de Roqueplane were built.
- Spared by the Revolution: Bishop Charles de La Font de Savine swore loyalty to the Revolution, and the town escaped looting. In the 19th century the Lafarge lime and cement works brought industry.
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