Valence is a city known as the gateway to southern France. Located in the Rhine valley, on the riverside terraces, it enchants with its beautiful Old Town with numerous alleys, gates and stairs leading to its next levels.
The city has Roman roots, and from the time of the migration of peoples, it began to develop here a thriving commercial center. For centuries it has been a famous stop on the trade route and on the famous pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela.
The Old Town of Valence, once closed within the walls, has retained its historical character. Its most valuable monument is the 11th-century Saint-Apollinaire cathedral with a Romanesque shape. Within the oldest part of the city there are also many magnificent tenement houses with decorated facades. The most famous are the Gothic-Renaissance House with Faces, on whose facade you can see personifications of winds, virtues and other allegorical figures, and the Renaissance House of Dupré-Latour. The charm of the Old Town in Valence are numerous alleys, narrow gates and passages, in which you can wander aimlessly and always end up in the vicinity of the cathedral.
Valence's attractions also include the local museums. The most important of these is the Museum of Valencia, Arts and Archeology, which has a rich collection of the history of the region as well as painting, sculpture and arts and crafts. An unusual place is the Armenian Heritage Center, which commemorates the history of the Armenian nation, including its tragic fate during the First World War.
