Authenticity, tradition and conviviality
 
In the Drôme Provençale, the way of life doesn't just boil down to the remarkable landscapes and clement skies.

There are some preserved spots, with a sometimes deliciously quaint charm, that reveal themselves to those who take the time to discover them : the local bistros.

Here, the human touch and grandma's cooking are au rendez-vous. The true heart of the villages, these darling bistros are places that are really nice to be in.

It is, it seems, what most surprises the Japanese tourists travelling through our beautiful country. The bistros.

But why in heck do the French remain so long in the sidewalk cafés, leaning on the bar or at a table in the back of a smoke-filled room ?

So what do they have to do or say, once their expresso or their menthe à l'eau has been drunk ? A small trip in the Drôme will, without a doubt, provide the key to this mystery.

Here, twenty-odd establishments, officially stamped "Bistrots de pays", will easily show that we don't go into a café just to quench our thirst !

These places, buzzing with well-told tall stories and murmured secrets, are true centres of life, particularly in the forsaken villages where they are the only busines.

"The only place where communication withstands, is the bistro." Alain Peyrefitte in Le Mal français.