Page 316 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)
P. 316

If you’ve got a sweet   are few and far between, so
        tooth, don’t miss the   remember to fill your tank.
        nearby Musée du Bonbon                WESTEND61 / GETTY IMAGES ©
        Haribo (Sweets Museum;
        www.museeharibo.fr; Pont des   4 Florac
        Charrettes; adult/child €7/5;   It’s a long, winding drive
        h9.30am-7pm Jul & Aug,   up into the Parc National
        10am-1pm & 2-6pm Tue-Sun   des Cévennes (www.ceven
        Sep-Jun), a candy museum   nesparcnational.fr). Created
        belonging to the Haribo   in 1970, this wild expanse
        brand. Join in with a tast-  of hills, gorges and empty
        ing session, or just pick up  plateaus covers a core 937
        some treats for the road.  sq km of Upper Langue-
                            doc. Famously featured in
        54 p317             Robert Louis Stevenson’s
        The Drive » From Uzès,   classic 1878 travelogue,
        travel 44km west on the D982   Travels with a Donkey
        and D907 to Anduze; the Train   in the Cévennes, it’s still
        à Vapeur des Cévennes is well   a remote and sparsely
        signposted.
                            populated landscape,
                            home to rare species
                            including vultures, bea-
        3 Anduze            vers, otters, roe deer and
        If you fancy a break from   golden eagles.
        driving, a trip aboard   The riverside town of
        the Train à Vapeur des   Florac makes an ideal
        Cévennes (%04 66 60   base, draped along the
        59 00; www.trainavapeur.  west bank of the Tarnon
        com; adult/child/bike return   River, a tributary of the
        €15.50/10.50/3; hApr-Oct) is   Tarn. There’s not much
        just the ticket. This vin-  to see in town, but it’s
        tage steam train chugs   a good place to stretch
        13km between Anduze   your legs: Florac’s Maison
        and St-Jean du Gard, a   du Parc National des
     PYRENEES & SOUTHWEST FRANCE 28 PONT DU GARD TO VIADUC DE MILLAU
        journey of 40 minutes.   Cévennes (%04 66 49 53
        each way. En route, you’ll   00; www.cevennes-parc
        stop at a 150-year-old   national.fr; 6bis place du Palais;
        bamboo garden, the   h9am-noon & 2-6pm Mon-Fri,   it passes through Ispagnac and
        Bambouseraie de Pra-  10am-1pm & 3-6pm Sat & Sun   tracks the river to Ste-Énimie,
        france (www.bambouseraie.  Apr-Sep, shorter hours Oct-Mar)   28km northwest of Florac.
        com; adult/child €9.60/5.60;   has comprehensive in-
        h9.30am-7pm mid-Mar–Sep,   formation on hiking and   TRIP HIGHLIGHT
        to 6pm early–mid-Mar & Oct,   other activities.  5 Gorges du Tarn
        to 5pm early–mid-Nov, closed
        mid-Nov–Feb).       5 p317             West of Florac, the rush-
                                               ing Tarn River has carved
        The Drive » The 74km stretch   The Drive » Head on from   out a series of sheer
        between Anduze and Florac   Florac along the N106, and keep   slashes into the limestone
        along the D907 follows the river   your eyes open for the sharp left
        and slowly loops up through   turn onto the D907B towards   known as the Gorges du
        the forested hillsides into the   Ispagnac. The road teeters   Tarn. Running southwest
        high Cévennes. Petrol stations   along the edge of the gorge as   for 50km from Ispagnac,

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