Allan can be explored through two very different highlights: Château Bizard takes you from the vineyard to a tasting in the cellar, while the old village draws visitors with medieval courses and trails into the countryside. There are also the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church and the Notre-Dame d’Allan Chapel. When planning your trip, it is therefore worth first asking whether wine, outdoor activities or historic sites are your main interest.

Discover wine at Château Bizard

The wine experience at Château Bizard begins among the rows of vines and continues in the cellar, where a tasting straight from the barrel is part of the experience. The tour therefore takes you from the vineyard to the wine itself, rather than focusing only on the taste in the glass. There are also sensory workshops introducing visitors to wine tasting, with aroma games and tasting discoveries at their heart.

Les Scintillantes is another opportunity to bring wine and culture together. This annual wine and music event at Château Bizard is for people interested in wine, music and special experiences. The programme includes a wine tasting in the château grounds. The Château’s offerings are therefore distinct: the tour connects the vineyard and cellar, the workshops focus on sensory exercises, and the event adds music as a separate highlight. If Les Scintillantes is the reason for your trip, check the dates for the year you plan to visit.

Courses in medieval Vieil Allan

Within the medieval ruins, the Vieil Allan orienteering area offers two courses with different levels of difficulty. The easy course is family-friendly. The moderate historical course uses QR codes to explain the site’s history. The ratings make the difference clear at a glance: one option offers an easy introduction, while the other focuses more on history and a moderately challenging route.

The orienteering area is open daily all year round and admission is free. This makes the courses a standalone way to explore the old site. Those who want to combine exercise with local history can find both on the QR-code course; those who prefer an easy, family-friendly route can choose the corresponding option. This suitability applies to the easy course, not to all trails in Allan as a whole.

Forest trails, trail routes and viewpoints

The routes around Allan also differ in their character. Les Hauts d’Allan is a 30-kilometre red mountain biking route through the Allan forest. The route includes numerous viewpoints with 180-degree views. The Tour des plateaux de la forêt d’Allan trail route starts in the old village and passes through the Allan forest and over its plateaus. The Forêt d’Allan et Croix de Siméon trail route starts at the medieval site, follows forest paths and ends at the Croix de Siméon.

The routes can therefore be distinguished by activity and course: for Les Hauts d’Allan, mountain biking, its red difficulty rating and 30 kilometres are the defining features. The two trail routes are characterised by their respective starting points and paths. Hiking trails also lead from the medieval village through landscapes with olive trees, truffle oaks and lavender. These features give the trails a different character from the viewpoints and forest sections of the routes mentioned above.

Churches and heritage

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church stands in Allan’s old village and was built between 1601 and 1620. Another named cultural and historical landmark is the Notre-Dame d’Allan Chapel, which has been classified as a historic monument since 27 July 1924. These two sites add a historical perspective to trip planning, alongside the courses that bring the history of medieval Allan to life outdoors.

These different interests can help guide your choice of stay in Allan: wine tasting and music, trails through forests and countryside, or historic sites each offer a different focus.

Discover more destinations: Tersanne, Cobonne, Saint-Pantaléon-Les-Vignes, Beaumont-Lès-Valence, Pont-De-L'isère, Pont-De-Barret, Marsanne, Die

For the broader travel overview: Drôme.