The Valence Museum

The Valence Museum of Art and Archaeology, harmoniously blending ancient and modern, takes you back in time, throught the history of man and the arts, from regional prehistory to contemporary art. There are also magnificient viewing points including a unique 360° panorama over the Rhone Valley.

Officially created in 1850, it has been housed since 1911 in the former episcopal palace, a vast mansion between a courtyard of honor and a private garden that retains many traces of its centuries-old history: a fortified 12th-century episcopal tower, an ogival gallery, painted ceilings from the 15th and 17th centuries, and more.

Its collections, comprising more than 20,000 works, offer a broad overview of human history and the arts, from regional prehistory to contemporary art, in a redesigned layout.

The Archaeology section traces the history of the civilizations that occupied the Drôme and the middle Rhône Valley, from modern times back to prehistory.

The Art section, which brings together paintings, drawings, sculptures, and decorative arts, features numerous works on the theme of landscape, from its reinterpretation by contemporary artists to its “invention” in the 16th century as an autonomous genre.