Our Day Out: Anduze
Le Train à Vapeurs des Cévennes connects three stops in the beautiful Vallèe du Gard, and provides the means for a great day out. Jeanne Marshall wipes the soot from her eyes.
In the Gard valley, between Anduze and St Jean du Gard, there is so much to do this should have been two days out.
We made an early Sunday morning start at the large brocante market near the centre of town. This market is well worth a visit; it is well organised and full of bargains – stalls range from vide grenier amateurs to regular dealers - but you need to arrive early, because it gets very busy later in the morning.
When we had finished, we sat down at a café in the centre of town to rest with our purchases before heading off for the station for the 11.30 train to St Jean du Gard. There is, by the way, an excellent newspaper shop, Maison de la Presse, which supplies English papers, a real treat on Sunday, and other publications in English, with lots of friendly advice and good cheer.
Le Train à Vapeurs des Cévennes connects three stops in the beautiful Vallèe du Gard, and provides the means for a great day out. Jeanne Marshall wipes the soot from her eyes.
In the Gard valley, between Anduze and St Jean du Gard, there is so much to do this should have been two days out.
We made an early Sunday morning start at the large brocante market near the centre of town. This market is well worth a visit; it is well organised and full of bargains – stalls range from vide grenier amateurs to regular dealers - but you need to arrive early, because it gets very busy later in the morning.
When we had finished, we sat down at a café in the centre of town to rest with our purchases before heading off for the station for the 11.30 train to St Jean du Gard. There is, by the way, an excellent newspaper shop, Maison de la Presse, which supplies English papers, a real treat on Sunday, and other publications in English, with lots of friendly advice and good cheer.
The steam train is a great favourite not only with
children and train enthusiasts, but also for its
spectacular views, which you won’t see from the
road. We arrived at the Bambouseraie in time for
lunch. This part of the train journey is short and
not as picturesque as the section between the
Bambouseraie and St. Jean du Gard, though the kids
will love the 1 km-long
tunnel and bridge at the start of the journey.
Having disembarked at the Bambouseraie, we walked for five minutes up the road where we came across L’Auberge de Montsauve. They have a set menu for 10 euros on a Sunday or 17 with a large salad option.
I recommend the saussice d’anduze, a local speciality. The outdoor terrace was a nice setting and very child friendly with a good children’s menu. Service was attentive and friendly, though if any English was spoken by the staff, they were too shy to use it.
After lunch we wandered back to the Bambouseraie and had a long stroll around the gardens for about two hours. There are some interesting fixtures such as the Laotian village, the Japanese Garden and lots of interesting flowering bushes, aside from the obvious assortment of bamboo, which grows so high that for the most part, you are walking in the shade.
Having disembarked at the Bambouseraie, we walked for five minutes up the road where we came across L’Auberge de Montsauve. They have a set menu for 10 euros on a Sunday or 17 with a large salad option.
I recommend the saussice d’anduze, a local speciality. The outdoor terrace was a nice setting and very child friendly with a good children’s menu. Service was attentive and friendly, though if any English was spoken by the staff, they were too shy to use it.
After lunch we wandered back to the Bambouseraie and had a long stroll around the gardens for about two hours. There are some interesting fixtures such as the Laotian village, the Japanese Garden and lots of interesting flowering bushes, aside from the obvious assortment of bamboo, which grows so high that for the most part, you are walking in the shade.
The entire complex is irrigated via a network of
small canals, so the experience is beautifully
augmented by the sight and sound of running water.
The men in my family were particularly taken by the
giant carp who roam the canals, but mostly live
near the restaurant and visitor centre, which are
both airy, comfortable and tastefully done. You can
buy a variety of plants and bamboo-derived
products, and the souvenirs on offer are all of a
superior quality.
The price of entry was 7.50 euros, with few concessions for a family, so it is worth going only if you expect to make a real visit, not for a quick stroll.
The price of entry was 7.50 euros, with few concessions for a family, so it is worth going only if you expect to make a real visit, not for a quick stroll.
At about four o’clock we continued our steam train
journey to St. Jean du Gard, taking in drinks and
ice cream at the station, while the locomotive ‘ran
around the train’, before returning to Anduze.
We enjoyed our day out enormously, but it was quite long and tiring. For me, a single journey on the train would have sufficed, but this requires having someone willing to meet you at the other end with a car.
If the Bambouseraie is the focus of your visit, it is better to take the train from the other direction, ie, from St. Jean du Gard, and there is a difference in price which makes the journey seem better value for money. From the other direction, the last train scheduled did not give us time to look around St. Jean du Gard, which is a lovely little town with some very good restaurants at all price levels. Had we arrived in St Jean earlier, we would have had time to visit the aquarium which has an impressive variety of fish in over 50 glass-walled tanks of varying sizes.
www.trainavapeur.com
www.bambouseraie.com
www.aquarium-cevennes.com
www.cevennes-tourisme.fr
We enjoyed our day out enormously, but it was quite long and tiring. For me, a single journey on the train would have sufficed, but this requires having someone willing to meet you at the other end with a car.
If the Bambouseraie is the focus of your visit, it is better to take the train from the other direction, ie, from St. Jean du Gard, and there is a difference in price which makes the journey seem better value for money. From the other direction, the last train scheduled did not give us time to look around St. Jean du Gard, which is a lovely little town with some very good restaurants at all price levels. Had we arrived in St Jean earlier, we would have had time to visit the aquarium which has an impressive variety of fish in over 50 glass-walled tanks of varying sizes.
www.trainavapeur.com
www.bambouseraie.com
www.aquarium-cevennes.com
www.cevennes-tourisme.fr
