Pont-en-Royans

Pont-en-Royans
Pont-en-Royans
Commune
	A view of Pont-en-Royans
	Coat of arms
	Location of Pont-en-Royans
	Pont-en-Royans Pont-en-Royans
	Coordinates: 45°03′49″N 5°20′36″E / 45.0636°N 5.3433°E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Le Sud Grésivaudan
Intercommunality	Saint-Marcellin Vercors Isère Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Bernard Grindatto
Area 1	2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi)
Population (2021)	802
• Density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	38319 /38680
Elevation	183–788 m (600–2,585 ft) ; (avg. 210 m or 690 ft)
Website	www.pontenroyans-vercors.fr
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Pont-en-Royans (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃.t‿ɑ̃ ʁwajɑ̃]) is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France.^[3] In 2021, it had a population of 802.

Geography

The town is located near the Isère valley at the gates of the Vercors Regional Natural Park. It lies at the meeting of the rivers Bourne (which rises in Lans-en-Vercors) and its tributary the Vernaison (which originates in the territory of Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors). The two rivers together collect most of the waters of the Vercors. The left bank and the river after its confluence are located in the department of Drôme.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,132	—
1975	1,094	−0.49%
1982	1,051	−0.57%
1990	879	−2.21%
1999	917	+0.47%
2009	853	−0.72%
2014	788	−1.57%
2020	795	+0.15%
Source: INSEE^[4]

Twin towns

Pont-en-Royans has been twinned with Bassiano, Italy, since 1985.^{[citation needed]}

Sights

Today, Pont-en-Royans is a village displaying the medieval architecture of the sixteenth century and is famous for its colourful hanging houses. Its original architecture is due to an ingenious adaptation to the environment of the village to promote its trading activity with timber.

The water museum aims to explore the water in all its forms. A bar allows water tasting of more than 900 bottled waters of the world.
The Choranche caves lead through an underground river of stalactites. Unique amphibians (the proteas) are survivors from the time of dinosaurs.
Circus choranche and cascading Gournier.
Route des Gorges de la Bourne between Pont-en-Royans and Villard-de-Lans. Corbelled road carved into the rock and classified three stars in the Michelin guide. Work is being undertaken since 2008 to secure the route to the source of many accidents