Читать книгу The River Rhone Cycle Route. From the Alps to the Mediterranean онлайн

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Stage 17 Montélimar to Pont-St Esprit

Stage 18 Pont-St Esprit to Avignon

Stage 19 Avignon to Arles

Stage 20 Arles to Port-St Louis-du-Rhône

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The old Belvédère hotel is high on the Furkapass (Stage 1)

INTRODUCTION

Running from the Swiss Alps to the Mediterranean Sea, the valley of the river Rhone has for many centuries been one of the great communication links of western Europe. The Romans conquered Gaul by marching their legions up the lower Rhone valley from the sea, while over 1850 years later the French Emperor Napoleon took his army the other way by using the upper valley as his route to invade Italy. For modern-day French families the lower Rhone valley is the ‘route du soleil’ (route to the sun) which they follow every summer to reach vacation destinations in the south of France. For much of its length the river is followed by railways, roads and motorways carrying goods to and from great Mediterranean ports such as Marseille and Genoa.