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Village photo gallerySt Andre de Valborgne (our local village)
Our local village is 1 km away along a small country road... see the photos below. There is a large natural swimming pool at the foot of a waterfall just 5 minutes' walk away with picnic tables, benches and diving rocks: truly spectacular.
The village has a grocer's with a bakery outlet, an excellent butcher's, a café, one to two restaurants (one in the process of coming under new management) and a tourist information office, run by the ever-charming Beatrice. A new cultural centre, Pages d'Eméraude, offers a library with books for loan or exchange (some in English!) and a selection of teas and coffees served in the small shaded garden at the back.
There is a free public tennis court in the village, and a small Sunday morning market from May to September, with locally produce for sale including vegetables, cheeses, honey, chutneys, ice creams and roasted chickens.
A local craftsman of schist (the local stone), Jean-Pierre Boyer, offers occasional workshops.
The Tourist Office 'Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes de St André de Valborgne' offers free guided tours of the village throughout summer and is open all year round.
The local area
There are 15 marked hiking trails in the valley. We have maps showing the routes, also available from the tourist office for 5 euros each.
Trout can be fished from a natural breeding pool at a nearby hamlet, and from the river with a permit for sale at the tourist information centre.
The area is abundant in wildlife. Buzzards, snake eagles, woodpeckers, bee-eaters and occasionally even hoopoes and golden eagles can be glimpsed - or heard - among the trees. The valley is also a favourite haunt of wild boar, badgers, beavers, stone martens and other woodland mammals.
We are situated in the adhesion zone of the Cévennes national park. Find out about the main sites of the park here.
