The Cévennes form a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean plain.

Mountains: hiking trails and winding roads, drailles (transhumance paths toward the summer pastures of Mont Aigoual and Mont Lozère). The mountains are blue, like in Greece, with scattered houses and tiny hamlets, springs, terraces that were once cultivated, and chestnut groves. Follow in the footsteps of the mule drivers, shepherds and pedlars ... resistance fighters, the camisards who rose up against Louis XIV, and the maquisards who resisted the occupation. A region of mountain villages, capricious rivers and caves. A region where traditional ways of life still thrive, pétanque and cafés, markets, Saturday-night village dances ...

There's a whole range of activities available: hiking (all levels of difficulty), horse-riding, mountain biking (several Grande Randonnée trails meet in Lasalle), river bathing, fishing, canoeing and kayaking, hang gliding ... «Must sees» include the bamboo forest in Anduze, the «sea of rocks» at Sauve, the spectacular Cirque de Navacelles canyon and the Mont Aigoual forests.

Plain: there´s much more than just the Mediterranean, visit the splendid Roman remains (Nîmes, Pont du Gard and Arles ...), medieval villages (Sauve, Vézenobres, Saint Martin de Londres ...), large towns (Montpellier, Nîmes, Uzès ...) with their mansions, squares and gardens, and ferias (bullracing festivals), and delightful small towns (Sommières, Aigues Mortes ...), and vineyards everywhere. Wine from this region is excellent.

You can bathe at the seaside resorts of Palavas, La Grande-Motte, Le Grau-du-Roi and or from natural beaches, discover the Camargue, the salt-water lakes where shellfish are farmed, and the salt marshes.

And there are numerous museums celebrating the region´s past: Musée des Vallées Cévenoles (Saint-Jean du Gard), the silk museum (Saint-Hippolyte), the desert museum (the birthplace of the camisard leader Rolland, in Mialet), a mining museum (Alès). And of course the art museums in Alès (PAB), Nîmes (Carré d'art), Montpellier (Fabre museum), and the prehistoric site of Cambous.

In Lasalle there are bakers, a butcher, mini-market, pharmacy, doctors, nurses, physiotherapist, taxis, ambulances, and on the activity front, a river, tennis club, riding school and internet access (Centre de ressources). There's plenty going on (weekly market on Monday, hiking with guide, village tours) and Toro-Piscine (bull games) every Thursday. To find out more:  Cévennes Garrigues tourist information office.

But you may prefer to just enjoy the peace and quiet, relaxing by the pool, or on your terrace, or lazing around in the shade of the lime trees.