Baronnies

The Baronnies (French pronunciation: [baʁɔni]) is a historic name for the area east and north of Mont Ventoux in Southern France. Today most of the Baronnies is part of the department of Drôme (a part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region). Smaller areas in the east and south belong to the departments of Vaucluse, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region). The area of roughly 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) is sparsely populated; the 1999 census counted only 22,000 inhabitants. Since the 17th century les Baronnies, especially its eastern parts, suffered from land flight due to harsh economic conditions. Starting in the 1980s land flight has stopped and the population is now increasing especially in and around the towns of Nyons, Buis-les-Baronnies, Mirabel-aux-Baronnies, Faucon and Puymeras. There are plans to create the Parc Naturel Régional des Baronnies. The area is paradise for hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, cycling, mountain biking, horse-riding, hang gliding and paragliding.