Market Day in St Ambroix

St Ambroix is a small busy town on the eastern side of the Cevennes between the mountains and the garrigue, or heathlands. The Cèze river runs through the town, which has one main street, an attractive medieval quarter and a weekly market that has been running since at least 1363. Tuesday is market day and this is when the town really comes alive.

The market is split into two distinct parts. At the top end of town, in the Place de l’Esplanade, there is a large stretch of open space, which is usually occupied by petanque or boules players and a popular pizza van, but on market day it is lined with stalls selling clothes, music, jewellery, quilts, shoes, and children’s toys. At the other end of the town, in the square in front of the church, is the main food area with stalls down the main street selling anything from honey to teddy bears.

Let’s presume you start with the clothes end of the market. There are endless stalls selling cheap things children’s T shirts, swimwear, shoes, a hat stall, women’s and men’s clothes. There are also baskets, brightly coloured ceramic dishes and pretty hand stitched quilts. At the back of the market there is a large stall selling second hand clothes. Here you can sometimes find designer clothes for two or three euros but for this you will really need to be here early.

There are a couple of excellent fish stalls at the back of the market outside the Caisse d’Epargne bank. They usually have fresh tuna, fresh sardines and almost any other sort of fish you might want.

For bread there is a wide choice. The stall outside the ITC estate agents sells very large round Cevenol loaves sometimes called Miches. These are good if you like a lot of crust but you will never fit the slices in your toaster. Opposite the pharmacie, on the other side of the road is ‘Romestan’, a shop that sells good baguettes, different types of novelty bread, and plenty of small quiches, mini pizzas and sandwich rolls.

For cheese stalls, you are spoiled for choice, beautifully presented locally produced cheeses in impressive variety and quantity. Even butter called beurre motte is presented like a large cake to be sliced and bought. It is more creamy and tasty than store bought - a real treat. Large round hard mountain cheeses, soft creamy goats cheeses, Morbier with a blue streak through the middle, and plenty of milder cheeses, tell the stallholder what you want and he will let you taste a bit before buying.

Practical Advice for the Visitor As the stalls take up the areas usually used for parking, you will need to know where the car parks are. There are three roads that come into the town and the parking is signposted on each of them. From the Ales side of town you can park at the station on your left just before the railway bridge. From the Uzès side of town, the Rue de la Republique, you take the narrow road by the side of the Renault garage on your right as you enter the town and follow the parking signs to park by the river. From the north you turn left into a narrow road after you have crossed the river bridge to arrive at the same riverside car park. These car parks are no more than a few minutes stroll from the centre of town.Be careful if you manage to find a parking space in the centre of town as most of it is a blue zone. This is free but only if you have a blue pass, which lasts forever and you can buy from the town hall or tabacs in the main street for two euros. Without one you will get a ticket.

Locally produced honey is sold from a stall outside the shoe shop in the lower end of the market. This you can also taste, on small wooden spatulas, before buying. In the Place aux Herbes is a stall selling organic vegetables, and opposite them a large stall selling a hug variety of vegetables and seasonal fruit. Walk down beside the church to the small car park in the Place du bd du Nord, at the back of the town, where you will find a wine cave to sample and buy a range of red and rose wines.
Some stalls roast chicken and others make paella. Opposite the church, is the Maison de la Presse which sells English newspapers, and has a very good selection of French magazines and local guide books.

By now, staggering under the weight of purchases you may be ready for a break. Try the Cardamome café in the Place aux Herbes. Their tables are arranged around a small fountain. They have good coffee which they roast and grind themselves, hot chocolate, a range of speciality teas and cakes. They serve good salads at lunchtime.
If you want a pastry to go with your drinks, stroll round the corner to Merle’s Passion Chocolat for the best pastries in town. They also sell hand made chocolates and delicious gateaux.

If you want a pastry to go with your drinks, stroll round the corner to Merle’s Passion Chocolat for the best pastries in town. They also sell hand made chocolates and delicious gateaux.

As you move back towards the centre of the market you will pass a large stall outside the town hall that sells salami type sausage, hams, dried fruit, red Camargue rice and many other delicacies. If you have forgotten your Opinel knife to slice your ham or sausage you will find one on a stall at the top of the steps leading down to the Place aux Herbes, the square with a fountain, half way down the main street. The sausage stall also sells the best olives, which are purchased by the ladle-full. These olives are really good. I still take bags of them for friends in the UK. Try the Parfums du Sud, Pistou, l’Ail, or the little Picholine. Ask to taste one if you are not sure which ones to choose. If you are travelling you squeeze the plastic bag you buy them in tight so that you exclude all air. Like this they will last for up to three months in the fridge.

There are several plant stalls dotted around the market, for both house, garden and at certain times of year vegetable plants for the potager or kitchen garden, though I much prefer to buy from Jan, the pepinieriste in Les Mages, on the outskirts of town, because he really cares, and his advice is always just right.

Once fortified you could walk up to the ‘Dugas’. This is the old part of town that runs up behind the market. It is a stiff uphill climb but you get a great view from the top, which is crowned by a small chapel and recently restored bell tower, which dates from 1415. Take any of the narrow turnings in the road behind the fish stalls, or the road with the tourist board office, or the Place aux Herbes and you will find yourself in a maze of small alleyways in this medieval quarter. The trick is to keep heading upwards. You should end up in the ramparted grassy area that surrounds the chapel. From the top you can look across a beautiful view of the town.

Despite its size, St Ambroix is a meeting place for a huge variety of people up and down the eastern side of the Cevennes. Carol Cormack is one of them, and chose the townís busiest day to visit and describe the things she loves about it.