Montélimar (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃telimaʁ] (listen); Vivaro-Alpine: Montelaimar pronounced [muntelajˈma]; Latin: Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018, the commune had a population of 39,415; its urban area had a population of 57,372.[3]
![]() | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (May 2011) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Montélimar
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Commune | |
![]() Montélimar City Hall | |
![]() Coat of arms | |
Location of Montélimar ![]() | |
![]() ![]() Montélimar ![]() ![]() Montélimar | |
Coordinates: 44°33′29″N 4°45′03″E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Department | Drôme |
Arrondissement | Nyons |
Canton | Montélimar-1 and 2 |
Intercommunality | Montélimar Agglomération |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Julien Cornillet[1] |
Area 1 | 46.81 km2 (18.07 sq mi) |
• Urban | 132.3 km2 (51.1 sq mi) |
Population | 39,818 |
• Density | 850/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
• Urban (2018) | 57,372 |
• Urban density | 430/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 26198 /26200 |
Elevation | 56–213 m (184–699 ft) (avg. 81 m or 266 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
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.
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Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5] |
The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Montelimar nougat is mentioned in the opening lines of the Beatles' "Savoy Truffle" from The White Album. 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 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 has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification.
Climate data for Montélimar (1981–2010 averages) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 19.3 (66.7) |
22.4 (72.3) |
26.4 (79.5) |
30.6 (87.1) |
33.9 (93.0) |
38.1 (100.6) |
40.0 (104.0) |
41.1 (106.0) |
36.2 (97.2) |
30.4 (86.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
19.9 (67.8) |
41.1 (106.0) |
Average high °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
17.5 (63.5) |
22.1 (71.8) |
26.2 (79.2) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.1 (84.4) |
24.2 (75.6) |
18.7 (65.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
8.6 (47.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
Average low °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.9 (40.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
11.1 (52.0) |
14.7 (58.5) |
17.3 (63.1) |
17.0 (62.6) |
13.7 (56.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
5.8 (42.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
9.2 (48.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | −14.4 (6.1) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
7.5 (45.5) |
5.6 (42.1) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 64.0 (2.52) |
45.2 (1.78) |
47.1 (1.85) |
81.3 (3.20) |
83.1 (3.27) |
55.2 (2.17) |
48.7 (1.92) |
57.7 (2.27) |
116.2 (4.57) |
135.8 (5.35) |
100.5 (3.96) |
70.5 (2.78) |
905.3 (35.64) |
Average precipitation days | 6.6 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 6.4 | 8.8 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 77.4 |
Average snowy days | 2.3 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 8.6 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 80 | 76 | 70 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 62 | 65 | 72 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 72.7 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 104.9 | 134.5 | 200.0 | 214.6 | 255.3 | 295.5 | 327.3 | 293.6 | 224.5 | 152.3 | 110.3 | 92.1 | 2,404.8 |
Source 1: Météo France[6][7] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990)[8] |
Montélimar is twinned with:[9]
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