Quick
check-list:
• Canoeing
• Cycling
and mountain biking (hire facilities in town)
• Fishing
• Golf
• Horse
riding
• Rambling on marked paths
(e.g. on the well-known Stevenson Trail and other Grandes
Randonnées such as no.6 that passes the house)
• River swimming and rock-pool diving
• Open-air and indoor tennis
• Tree
adventure park
• Wine tasting (with local
recommendations).
The
attractions of Anduze:
You'll find the staff in the Office
de Tourisme in the main square are friendly, and offer many
leaflets about interesting local activities.
There are several cafés to sit in for drinks
and snacks, and you can choose among 17 restaurants in the town
named in our two-page list (covering 16 villages in the locality as
well as Anduze). The big attractions are the local steam train (TVC: Train à Vapeur des
Cévennes) that runs up the Gardon valley to St Jean du Gard,
passing the Bambouseraie (the bamboo collection at
Générargues in a park of distinction that includes a
beautiful landscaped Japanese garden).
For shopping, the town
centre is only 2 km away, or 20 minutes on foot. The supermarket with most to offer is Super U.
Otherwise, a range of small shops sell such
necessities as bread, medicines, newspapers (in several languages). A country market is held in the old town on Thursdays,
and a flea market on Sundays.
There are multilingual cash-points, three
banks, and low-cost petrol and diesel are
available from Super U and Netto market. In the summer months the
town attracts holiday-makers who give it a buzz that is said to be
the envy of surrounding holiday locations.
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Positioned
between impressive cliffs and
clinging to the banks of the river Gardon,
the town has stood at this "Gateway to the
Cévennes" from medieval times. It has a proud
history as a Calvinist stronghold from 1557 onwards, with successful
resistance to several attempts at
repression. Its great glazed earthenware
vases have decorated the gardens of Versailles as far
back as 1680. There are remnants of a fortified château in the
centre, a music museum housing 1400
instruments, an unusual fountain with a roof
shaped like a pagoda, an old covered market, and a host
of attractive winding streets.
The photo shows the Gateway viewed from the garden. |
For outings
further afield:
We have a list of
local markets showing the mornings on which they
function. And, if you enjoy tasting wines, ask for our
file of personal favourites from nearby and distant
wineries. The Mediterranean sea is just over an hour's
drive to the south, and to the east are the Pont du Gard (1
hour), Avignon and Arles (both 1 and 1/2 hours). But there are any
number of other special places to visit: Nimes (for its
Roman temple and arena); Uzès (a beautiful Midi town); St Guilhem-le-désert (medieval pilgrimage
village); the Cirque de Navacelles (a deep limestone valley on
the Causse plateau); the Grotte des
Demoiselles (one of the most impressive local caves); the world's
highest suspension bridge at Millau; the Cévennes National Park; and many other
attractive and interesting places described in the leaflets and
guides we provide. |
