Valence: France

Valence Travel: France
Valence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the département of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area.
Highlights of Valence
The cathedral of St. Apollinaris, which has an interesting apse, was rebuilt in the 11th century in the Romanesque style of Auvergne and consecrated in 1095 by pope Urban II. It suffered extensive damage in the French Wars of Religion, but it was restored in the first decade of the 17th century. The porch and the stone tower above it were rebuilt in 1861. The church contains the monument of Pius VI, who died at Valence in 1799. The library and the museum containing Roman antiquities, sculptures and a picture gallery, are housed in the old ecclesiastical seminary.
The most notable of the monuments erected it this city to its natives include those to Émile Augier the dramatist by the duchess of Uzès (1897), and to General Championnet.