In 1879 a country postman named Ferdinand Cheval tripped over an oddly shaped stone on his delivery round near Hauterives. He picked it up, took it home, and spent the next thirty-three years building a palace out of stones he collected on his rounds, carrying them in his pockets, then in baskets, then in a wheelbarrow. The result, the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval, is one of the strangest and most moving buildings in France, a fantastical mass of towers, grottoes, animals and inscriptions, admired by the Surrealists and now a protected monument.
Hauterives itself is a small village in the valley of the Galaure, in the Drôme des Collines, a rolling landscape of low hills, walnut groves, orchards and woods north of Romans. The high ground around it rises gently above the valley, giving views over the hills towards the Vercors in the east and the Rhône valley in the west.
The riding here is pleasant and varied. The roads wind through the hills, with frequent bends, short climbs and descents, and generally good surfaces. Traffic is light away from the main roads. The Galaure valley road is a pleasant run, and the routes into the hills offer more challenge and better views. The Vercors, with its dramatic cliffs and gorges, is not far to the east.
The palace draws many visitors, especially in summer, so expect crowds around Hauterives. The village has cafés and restaurants, and fuel is available in the larger towns nearby. Cheval is buried in the village cemetery, in a tomb he also built himself.