Tain-l'Hermitage travel guide

Visit Tain-l'Hermitage (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, France)

Tain-l'Hermitage is a town of just over 5,700 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Rhône River in the Drôme department, to the north of Valence. Côtes du Rhone wine and gourmet chocolate make Tain-l’Hermitage a popular destination with epicurean travelers and are the main attraction for visitors.

Explorer Tain l'Hermitage

To get the most of a visit to the town and its surrounding vineyards, a guide to the Tain-l’Hermitage caves and other highlights in the town is available in the Office de Tourisme du Pays de l’Hermitage on the Place de l’Eglise.

Chocolates and wine

Valrhona’s chocolate is celebrated by sweet-toothed enthusiasts, chefs and candy makers around the world for its taste and quality. The illustrious chocolate manufacturer is based in Tain-l’Hermitage and chocolate confections, bars, sauces, and powders are sold in its boutique at 14, Avenue du Président-Roosevelt.

While the brand’s prices are low in comparison to its prestige, shoppers can taste most of its products free of charge in the shop. The chocolate is delicious and immensely popular - when I visited people were leaving with carrier-bags full of chocolate treats. Also in Tain-l’Hermitage is Valrhona’s École du Grand Chocolat, which hosts chocolate demonstrations and workshops for both professionals and visitors

There are more than 45 wine caves in the Pays de l’Hermitage communes, offering ample opportunities to taste the area wines.

The two main Cotes-du-Rhône wines produced along the river are the Hermitages and the Crozes-Hermitages. Both can be tasted and bought in stores around the center of Tain l’Hermitage. The major vendors include Michel Chapoutier on 18, Avenue du Dr-Paul-Durand and Cave de Tain on 22, Route de Larnage.

The Salon des Vins held the last weekend of February is an ideal time to visit Tain-l’Hermitage. It offers the chance to sample and buy wine from more than 80 vendors with the purchase of a tasting glass.

Other highlights

Also in Tain-l’Hermitage you can visit the Musée de Tain-l’Hermitage, which houses a collection of paintings from the Nouvelle École de Paris in the 16th century Hôtel des Corubis. The museum’s paintings date from the 1950s and 1960s.

La Passerelle Seguin, a pedestrian bridge across the river, takes visitors to Tournon-sur-Rhône in the Ardèche department, which has a medieval castle and old town. Tournon-sur-Rhone is an attractive village with a garden on its hillside from where you can get wonderful views of Tournon sur Rhone and Tain l'Hermitage.

Marc Seguin, the inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge, designed the link between the two towns. Walking along the river on the Ardèche side offers the best view of Tain-l’Hermitage and the vineyards behind it.

Attractions nearby

After the delicious decadence of drinking wine and eating chocolate, the best way to experience the traditions of Tain-l’Hermitage is to take a hike through the vineyards on the hill overlooking the town. Many of the trails are steep and the directional markings are not always clear, but the panoramic views of the valley, the river, and the mountains beyond make it more than worthwhile.

A road under the train tracks leads to the base of the vineyards that grow over nearly every space on the hill. It takes about an hour to get up and down on trails which thread through the vineyards and up to the Chapelle Saint-Christophe, a small chapel in a place where it is said that a hermit once lived.

Near to Tain l'Hermitage in the town of Beaumont Monteux are the 'Jardins d'Erik Borja'. Erik Borja is a sculptor and has designed a garden using the principle of Feng Shui and the inspiration of Japanese gardens. The result is a beautiful garden with large ponds, cloud-pruned trees, verdant greens and an atmosphere of tranquility. It is well worth a visit.

You can find more travel ideas in the Drome guide and the Rhone-Alpes guide.