The appeal of the Cévennes

Between the Auvergne and Languedoc, straddling the “départements” of the Lozère and the Gard, the national park created in 1970 covers 225,460 acres with 52 communes, with the Cévennes in its wider sense comprising 567,423 acres and 117 localities, giving 41,000 inhabitants in all. The mid level mountain area lies between Mount Lozère to the north, Mount Aigoual to the south.

Once the backcloth for the wars of the Camisards in which Protestants clashed violently with Catholics in the early 18th century, the park was listed as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage on June 28th this year. Between mountains and deep valleys, the main towns are Alès, Le Vigan, Ganges, Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, Sauve, Saint-Jean-du-Gard and Anduze. The local economy mainly focuses on green tourism, agriculture and livestock breeding. “The Cévennes offer rock, nothing but rock, sharp shale... You can feel the struggle of man, his hard labour, a prodigious effort to battle with nature,” wrote Jules Michelet. At the foot of the massif, on the river Le Gardon, Anduze, a powerful seigneury in the 10th century, a cradle of silkworm farming in the 13th century, and a centre of Cévenol Protestantism in the 16th and 17th centuries, is famous nowadays for its castle and potteries.

Nicole Renvier of Terres des Cévennes covers the area from Anduze to Quissac where she runs two agencies, via a multitude authentic and well-preserved villages. Very often, clients from the region around Paris and Belgium buy holiday homes here, intending to move in permanently when they retire. Rarely arriving by chance, they have roots in the region, family or friends, or at least a history of holidays in the area. Most of the activity currently concerns properties priced from 300,000 to 450,000 €. A young Parisian couple just paid 430,000 € for a renovated stone house with grounds of 1,400 m2 in a large village. The advantage of an outdoor area and the prospect of being able to relax in the southern sun are essential requirements. The turnkey aspect also reassures these buyers living far from the mountains. A Belgian client set his sights on a house of 150 m2 in which to retire, opening out to a garden with a pool, and priced at 350,000 €, while an expatriate Frenchman wanting to return home paid 275,000 € for much the same type of property. A smaller surface area explains lower prices ; proximity to Montpellier appears to be the most decisive factor. Finally, a self-employed couple paid 750,000 € for a “mas” of 370 m2 offering contemporary decor, in grounds of 1,200 m2 with a pool. One of their reasons for moving was to be closer to their families.

Yann Vojtéra of Côté Soleil Immobilier sees the Cévennes on the Gard side as a fall-back market for L’Uzège, his own favourite area. “For the same amenites, prices here are lower. And the address is gradually being opened up thanks to the building of new roads. Little by little, the time it takes to reach a town like Anduze from Nîmes, or even Montpellier, is getting shorter. Today, it takes 40 minutes to drive to the prefectures of “départements” 30 and 34.” Yann Vojtera deliberately targets high-end properties, which now tend to be acquired more frequently as main rather than holiday homes. His files contain a château of 700 m2 in good condition, built in the 12th century at the entrance to the former silk capital, on almost 5 acres of land, on offer at 1,785,000 € ; an old silkworm farm of 260 m2, on almost 15 acres of land facing Mont Bouquet, at 995,000 € ; and a Cévenol “bastide” of 800 m2 in the midst of 328 acres of woodland on the hills of Saint-Jean-du-Gard, at 2,750,000 €. Potential purchasers are generally approaching retirement age and are mostly French, though Belgian and British buyers are still showing an interest in the region.

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