48 hours in the Cévennes

Occitanie/2023

North of Nîmes, Uzès is still a town of the South: a light, a stone, a nonchalant well-being... Uzès is the new bobo Eldorado, a concentrate of Luberon in the style of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: the boulevard winds around a medieval jewel, the passages intertwine, the blue sky gushes between the beautiful facades, the sun adorns every wall. Signorini Tartufi and Michaël Zingraf have made no mistake in establishing themselves in the heart of the town, in different fields - truffles and high-end real estate - but for the same bohemian luxury clientele.

The Place aux Herbes is a lively place, particularly at market time, so you can stroll through the centuries-old, untouched streets, mainly out of season. The town's charm is obvious, but the surrounding area is also well worth exploring: Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, the capital of the ceramics industry, the Vallauris of the Gard, Lussan, a remarkable village that can be admired from afar, perched on its rocky outcrop, or to the south, towards Nîmes, Collias and Cabrières, typical in their architecture and unity. Alès is undoubtedly rich in its mining past, but there's hardly a trace of it in this rather cheerful, very southern and lively city, which reached the finals for the French Capital of Culture label, losing out by a hair's breadth to Montbéliard. Many events make it an important hub, including the Itinérances film festival - 41st edition in 2023 - and all the shows staged by Le Cratère, Scène nationale d'Alès, in the heart of the city, on Place Henri-Barbusse, where you're sure to find a terrace to sit on. For walkers, Alès is first and foremost the "capital" of the Cévennes and the gateway to this magnificent region. This historic region, marked by Protestantism and the Camisard revolt in the early 18th century, has remained relatively untouched by mass tourism due to its rugged terrain. It is mostly covered by hikers on the famous GR 70. Known as the Stevenson trail, after the writer who took this route with his donkey before writing a famous account of it - as, more recently, Laure Calamy, heroine of the film Antoinette dans les Cévennes - it traverses splendid landscapes. Armed with this cultural vade-mecum, set off on a journey through deep green, winding forest-like roads and charming villages. If we can recommend a magical loop, reach Anduze (take the opportunity to discover the Bambouseraie and the Musée du Désert, at Mas Soubeyran, the home of Camisard leader Pierre Laporte), follow the Gardon, pause in Saint-Jean-du-Gard (to visit the Musée des vallées cévenoles, housed in a former spinning mill, the Maison rouge), continue to the Corniche des Cévennes via Saint-Roman-de-Tousque, then on to Barre-des-Cévennes and Florac. From here, climb the arid causse, which offers superb views, via Hures-la-Parade (aven Armand), then Meyrueis. Pass through L'Espérou, next to Mont Aigoual, and return to civilization via Le Vigan, Ganges and Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort. The adventure ends in Sauve, a little-known medieval village, with the remains of its ancient ramparts, narrow streets and staircases, charming spaces such as Place Jean-Astruc, named after one of Louis XV's physicians, and a plunging view over the Vidourle.