Montélimar

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Coordinates: 44°33′29″N 4°45′03″E / 44.55805556, 4.750833333

Administration
Commune of Montélimar
Location

Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Valence
Canton	Chief town of 2 cantons
Mayor	Franck Reynier (2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation	56 m–213 m (avg. 81 m)
Land area^¹	46.81 km²
Population^² (1999)	31,344
- Density	669/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	26198/ 26200
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Montélimar (Latin name: Acumum and Montelaimar in occitan) is a commune of southern France in the Drôme département. It is the second largest town in the département after Valence.

Montélimar and the Rhône

The site where the city of Montélimar stands today has been inhabited since the Celtic era. It was reconstructed during the Roman reign, including a basilica, aqueducts, thermae and a forum. The Adhémar family reigned over the city in the Middle Ages and built a castle (Château des Adhémar) which dominates the city silhouette even today.

It was the birthplace of the French navigator Louis de Freycinet and the hometown of Émile Loubet, President of France from 1899 till 1906, who worked also as the mayor of Montélimar.

Montélimar is widely regarded as the world capital of nougat.^{[citation needed]} The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Travellers used to buy nougat de Montélimar on their way to the south of France (or when returning) as the city is next to the Rhône river and to the primary route N7. Since the construction of the A7 autoroute, many nougat factories have been forced to close as tourists no longer stop in Montélimar but bypass it instead.

Montélimar is known in its region for its famous aire (service station) which unlike typical rest-stops offers accommodation, restaurants and such leisure activities as fencing and scuba diving. On occasion, visitors passing the aire have been known to put up tents and stay for several days.