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3 days in the Cévennes, from the steam train to Mont Aigoual

Schist and granite mountains, deep valleys, chestnut groves and terraces: the Cévennes, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Causses, are best discovered slowly, along winding roads.

Our day-by-day itinerary

The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).

Day 1 — Train à vapeur des Cévennes to Grotte du Trabuc

The Cévennes steam train between Anduze and Saint-Jean-du-Gard, the Prafrance bamboo garden, then the Trabuc cave.

Grotte du Trabuc
Caves · Gard

3 Grotte du Trabuc

The Trabuc cave is the largest underground network in the Cévennes. The Underground Safari route follows the main galleries, those travelled by the first discoverers.

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Day 2 — Florac to Abime de Bramabiau

Florac, gateway to the Cévennes National Park, then Mont Aigoual and its observatory, and the Bramabiau chasm.

Florac
Villages · Florac-Trois-Rivières

4 Florac

A small town, seat of the Cévennes National Park, nestled at the confluence of three rivers at the foot of the rocky bar of the Rocher de Rochefort.

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Observatoire du Mont-Aigoual
Museums · Lozère

6 Observatoire du Mont-Aigoual

In the Cévennes, on the border between the Gard and the Lozère, at 1,567 metres, stands the Mont Aigoual Observatory and its Météo-France weather station, in operation since 1887.

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Day 3 — Cirque de Navacelle to Source de lafoux

The Navacelles cirque, one of the greatest natural sites in the south of France, then the Vis waterfall and the Foux resurgence, at the bottom of the Vis gorges.

Cirque de Navacelle
Natural wonders · Gard

8 Cirque de Navacelle

Like other famous sites of the Grands Causses, the Cirque de Navacelles is visited every year by millions of tourists who come to admire the cut of the Vis canyon through the limestones and dolomites of the Causse de Blandas.

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La Cascade de la Meuse
Waterfalls · Gard

9 La Cascade de la Meuse

From the bridge that spans the Vis river, at the natural site of Saint-Laurent-le-Minier, the Cascade de la Meuse appears in its setting of greenery and rocks.

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Source de lafoux
Waterfalls · Gard

10 Source de lafoux

Source de Lafoux and Gorges de la Vis: the Vis gorges (a magnificent cut between the Causse du Larzac and the Causse de Blandas) and the Lafoux resurgence, an oasis of freshness and vitality in a mineral and arid world.

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When to go

Spring and autumn are the most beautiful, with blossom and then chestnuts. Summer is hot in the valleys and cool on Mont Aigoual. The Cévennes storms in autumn can bring violent downpours.

Getting around

A car is essential: the roads are winding and distances longer than they look. The steam train runs in season, from April to November.

Our tips

  • Check the weather in autumn: floods can be sudden.
  • Bring a warm layer for Mont Aigoual, even in summer.
  • Book the steam train in high season.
Tous les sites : GardTous les sites : Lozère

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