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Travel guide
The Cévennes
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September to October
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Welcome
The Cévennes, in a few days
The Cévennes are a land of schist and chestnut trees, with valleys so deep that the sun only reaches them by mid-morning. From the ridges, on the clearest windy days, you can see both Mont Blanc and the Mediterranean.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 1 thing
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- D5 Day 5 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mont Aigoual free · about 1 h 30The 1,565-metre roof of the Gard, topped by a late 19th-century granite weather observatory, with views on clear days from the Mediterranean to the Alps.
- Afternoon · Abîme de Bramabiau · about 1 hThe Bonheur river vanishes underground and roars out of a 40-metre fissure; Édouard-Alfred Martel first crossed its underground course in 1888.
🛏️ Where to sleep · L'Oronge ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€110 a night
D2
Day 2
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Corniche des Cévennes free · half a dayA ridge road of about 50 km between Florac and Saint-Jean-du-Gard, built in the early 18th century for Louis XIV's troops hunting the Camisards.
🛏️ Where to sleep · L'Oronge ↗€110 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Several days · The Stevenson Trail free · several daysThe GR 70 follows Robert Louis Stevenson's 1878 walk with his donkey Modestine, its Cévennes stretch crossing schist ridges, chestnut groves and hamlets.
🛏️ Where to sleep · L'Oronge ↗€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Musée du Désert · about 1 h 30The birthplace of Camisard leader Rolland at Mas Soubeyran, a museum of Protestant memory since 1911, with a hiding place, portable pulpits and galley registers.
- Afternoon · La Bambouseraie · half a dayGiant bamboo planted in 1856 by Eugène Mazel, now a forest of 20-metre stems, with a Laotian village, a Dragon Valley garden and his sequoias.
🛏️ Where to sleep · L'Oronge ↗€110 a night
D5
Day 5
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Cévennes steam train · about 1 h 30A steam locomotive pulling open carriages for 13 km between Anduze and Saint-Jean-du-Gard, through tunnels and over viaducts above the Gardon valley.
- Afternoon · Mont Lozère and the Finiels summit free · 2 to 3 hA bare granite ridge of boulders and heather peaking at 1,699 metres, crossed by old drove roads marked with standing stones for foggy days.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €80 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September to October
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/cevennes
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.