town of France, capital of the department of Drôme, in a fertile plain on the left bank of the Rhone, 65 miles S. of Lyons, and 143 N. by W. of Marseilles. It is an irregularly built place, surrounded with ancient walls and towers, and consisting of narrow winding streets, lined with mean houses. The principal building is the small old cathedral, which contains a monument by Canova to Pope Pius VI. There are also a citadel, court-house, theatre, barracks, a public library of 1000 volumes, and various schools. The manufactures consist of silk and cotton cloth, hosiery, gloves, ropes, leather, cutlery, and pottery; and there are also breweries, dyeworks, marble-works, and ship-building docks. A suspension bridge across the Rhone leads to a district producing the much-esteemed St Peray and Hermitage wines; and wine, brandy, silk, oil, fruit, and paper, are the chief articles of trade. Valence is connected by railway with Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles. Pop. (1856) 14,514.