Holidays in the Cévennes

Les Cévennes

Les Cévennes, G.DESCHAMPS

Le chemin de Stevenson

Le chemin de Stevenson, Michel Verdier-Association Stevenson Ce?vennes

L'observatoire météo du Mont Aigoual

L'observatoire météo du Mont Aigoual, A.Cougnenc

Sur le Mont Lozère

Mont Lozère, Sur le Mont Lozère © Rémi Flament

Welcome to our magnificent Cévennes, Grand Site Occitanie (Top Occitania Site)! This medium-mountain chain is part of the Massif Central. It overlaps the Lozère and Gard regions. Its highest peaks are Mont Aigoual (1,567 m) and Mont Lozère (1,699 m). What to do in the Cévennes? Hiking, canyoning, paragliding, via ferrata, motorbike roadtrips, visiting villages, museums, religious sites connected to the Camisards, …

Les Cévennes

Les Cévennes

Must-sees

Breathtaking panoramas and emblematic mountains

Follow the Corniche des Cévennes (by the D9) from Florac, until you reach the Mont Aigoual Meteorological Station. In mid-June, you'll come across thousands of sheep on their transhumance route during a gigantic celebratory festival. Pastures, heathland and massive blocks of granite: take time out to visit Mont Lozère, the rooftop of the Cévennes.

Remarkable sites are waiting to be discovered: the 154 menhirs at Cham des Bondons, Europe's 2nd greatest megalithic site, Villefort Lake, the medieval village of  La Garde-Guérin, Mont Lozère Museum. 

Le Puech de Mariette, près du site du Cham des Bondons

Le Puech de Mariette, près du site du Cham des Bondons, G.DESCHAMPS

Great ideas for Cévennes

Head for the Cévennes #GrandSiteOccitanie, a vast region with breath-taking views, awe-inspiring mountains, caves and gorges...

Unmissable

Cévennes  National Park is the biggest national park in mainland France and the only one at mid-altitude. The Park's website gives you lots of ideas for walks and outings in this outstanding site.

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The steam train in the Cévennes

A magical way to discover the Cévennes

The Cévennes steam train leaves from Anduze, capital of the famous Anduze vases, and heads to Saint-Jean du Gard, at the heart of the Gardons Valley.

Magnificent panoramas, a maze of viaducts and tunnels. You'll pass by the Cévennes Bamboo Grove, a one-of-its-kind exotic park in Europe.

Across garrigues and chestnut groves, trace your route through swimming places and remnants of historic human activity: bancels (terraces), windmills, castles…

Terminus at the Desert Museum in Mialet, a major place for Cévennes Protestantism.

Le train à vapeur des Cévennes

Le train à vapeur des Cévennes, Sud de France Développement

With children

Enjoy an unforgettable experience by heading off for a few days along the Stevenson Trail (the GR®70) which crosses the Cévennes, with a few pack donkeys to carry your kids and your bags.

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Tarn Gorges

One of the most spectacular landscapes in France

This 400 to 600 m-deep, 50 km-long canyon will blow you away. A succession of cliffs, corniches, rocks and picturesque villages. Discover the Tarn Gorges by road from Quézac (Lozère) to Rozier (Aveyron), on foot, in a canoe or kayak, or paragliding. Get on-board with La Malène Boat men for a trip down to the Cirque des Baumes.

Bask in the sun on one of the pebble beaches along the emerald water of the Tarn River. Contemplate, daydream, wow at Point Sublime.

Les Gorges du Tarn

Les Gorges du Tarn, A.Cougnenc

Original

A giant's, lion's or tortoise's cauldron? Let your imagination run free on the Chaos de Nîmes-le-Vieux marked trail: strange shapes, created through erosion, appear out of the mysterious Causse Méjean

Caverns, caves and grottos

Brilliant when it's hot outside

Take your ticket for the Abyss of Bramabiau whose underground river rushes down into a waterfall, head off to Cocalière Cave: an amazing festival of concretions, draperies and crystal pools. And, why not add a few concerts to your summertime agenda in the stalagmite forest of Aven Armand or commentated walksthrough Dargilan Grotto. As a climax? A safari through Trabuc Grotto, among turquoise lakes and 100,000 stone soldiers.

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La Grotte de la Cocalière

La Grotte de la Cocalière

The Cévennes and silk 

Unwind the story line

Three centuries of sericulture have shaped Cévennes landscapes: from the mulberry trees which silkworms love to the vestiges of ancient silk worm nurseries and spinning mills.

An absolute must-not-miss is the Silk Museum in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, the Maison Rouge - Musée des Vallées Cévenoles in Saint-Jean-du-Gard as well as the last-remaining silk-stocking workshops, in Sumène and Monoblet. In August, cotton and wool artisans hold market stalls in Florac, homeland of Tuffery jeans since 1892!

La Maison Rouge à Saint-Jean-du-Gard

La Maison Rouge - Musée des Vallées Cévenoles

The Cévennes, total change of scenery

It's an archipelago of worlds apart where scenery is forever changing. Breathtaking landscapes. Valleys proudly attached to their traditions. And a taste for incredible sharing with locals who adore passing on their love for their land.

Video 2 :39 © Cévennes Tourisme

How to get there

  • By car: by the A7, A9 or A75 motorways.
  • By train: take the TGV high-speed rail to Nîmes or Montpellier then a TER (regional train) which stops off at, among others, Alès and Mende, or a bus, connecting Saint-Jean du Gard, Le Vigan, Florac…
  • By plane: from Montpellier and Nîmes international airports.

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