Baix is a town in the Ardèche region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 17 km east of Privas, in extreme cases of Drome, east.
The 17 km² of its territory is between an arm of the Rhone, in the east, and the hills rising to over 450 m in the west.
This ideal location, largely sunny, on the right bank of the Rhone valley, is already appreciated in antiquity and a small city Greco-Roman then develops north of the present village of Baix. With islands dotted along the river, it was easy to cross.
The community that has formed is destroyed in the eighth century during the Saracen invasions. A new then will be protected by walls: it is Baix, which preserved the heritage elements of this era.
Ideally located in terms of transport links, Baix who lived from agriculture and commerce today still puts forward its geography and landscapes. Between reliefs Ardèche and strengths of the Rhone river, counting 1,100 inhabitants, a step that will fill fans including picturesque villages, hiking and fishing!
Dedicated to Saint Nicolas, patron including boatmen, the parish church is one of the remarkable sights of the town, which has retained a real character, dotted with medieval architecture elements or often predate the contemporary period. Originally Romanesque, the church was rebuilt in the fourteenth and twentieth centuries. It is observed in particular its bell tower adjoins the bedside, its facade gable which has a niche containing a statue of the Virgin and frescoes inside by the artist Duilio Donzelli in 1943.
Still on the religious level, the St. Joseph chapel, rebuilt in 1836 in neo-Gothic style on the site of an older building that served the local hospital, now hosts regular exhibitions. Note the arches of the vault of the choir, which fall on the "tail pieces" and the plaque honoring Séverine Vincent, this nun who worked in reconstruction and was buried in the chapel.
A seventeenth Way of the Cross (known as the Red Cross), protected as a historic monument, the tower of the restored clock in 1600 which constituted the medieval gate "north" of the village then fortified and made passage between the office Old town south and north Bourg Neuf are also to see.
A 1817 washhouse, a fountain Louis XVI, old houses with Renaissance elements, the hotel where the Cardinal Richelieu would have stayed, the hotel Aulan where the lord resided Baix after the demolition of his castle, elements the ancient walls still punctuate a walk in the village with the rest a few archways adding to its charm.
However, the most recent heritage of the common element is a Himalayan bridge! It spans the course of the Payre, which flows into the Rhone north of the village: it was constructed as part of the realization of the ViaRhôna, a cycle route linking Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, along the Rhone, alternating secure greenways and paths shared.
At Baix through the bridge, hikers, cyclists and mountain bikers of ViaRhôna can follow their journey while enjoying the wild nature around the river banks.
This route perfectly laid up Rochemaure proves the first of Baix asset in terms of leisure activities "nature". Other paths are also possible, on the west of the territory, borrowing climbing routes to the Ardeche hills.
Maps and information +33 4 75 49 59 20.
The banks of the Payre and of course those of the Rhone are also formidable terrain of exercise for fishing enthusiasts. Learn about the regulation +33 4 75 37 09 68.
Finally, culturally, noted that Elsa Triolet library offers animations and games. Information at +33 4 28 95 00 42.
