Day Trips: Sauve is within an hour drive of many amazing towns, activities, hiking, rivers, and natural beauty. The cottage is situated 20 minutes by car from the village of Sommieres, where there is a well-known Saturday market and Sunday Brocante to explore. Driving 50 minutes by car on beautiful small country roads will take you to beautiful medieval town and Duchessy of Uzes, which has another well-known Saturday market which is definitely worth visiting. If you are interested in wine tasting visit the numerous wineries in the Pic St Lou area. Drive 20 minutes to the famous potters town of Anduze or take the old Steam Train to St-Jean-du-Gard for lunch and then return. The train also stops at the Bambouserie (Bambou forest and gardens) along the way which is an amazing garden of bamboos and various other plants. If you love gardens, this is a wonderful place to go for a day visit and to plan on a picnic or eat at a local restaurant.

The larger historic Roman town of Nimes with its colosseum is a 30 minute by car ride with Arles an additional 30 minutes down the road. If you are interested in the city of Montpellier (“the Paris of the south”) for great shopping or many of the fabulous sandy beaches and beach villages such as Palavas, AIgues-Mortes, Carnon-Plage, La Grande Motte, Le Grau du Roi, you can reach them all within1 hour. A full opera schedule is available in Montpellier during the summer months.

Day trips are extensive in every direction. Plan on going to visit a local site and come back in the late afternoon and relax by the salt-water pool or in your private garden. In the evenings have a great meal at a nearby restaurant in Sauve. Alternatively, cook for yourself and eat in your garden or on your terrace.

Ideas of places nearby are seen in this link https://www.francethisway.com/places/a/sauve-gard.php or you can visit any local tourist office which is in every village.

Why Sauve?: The natural beauty of this area is amazing. Sauve is situated between the Parc National des Cévennes (National Park of the Cevennes) and Le Parc naturel régional de Camargue (the Natural Regional Park of the Camargue). Within a radius or a 1 hour drive of Sauve there are ocean and beaches, mountains, rivers, beautiful nature and hiking and numerous historical villages plus the cities of Nimes (old Roman City) and Montpellier with great universities and a regional airport. Additionally, the international airport at Marseilles is within a 2 hour drive and the TGV (Fast speed train) connects between Nimes and Montpellier for about a 3.5 hour easy train ride to Paris. If you are traveling through France and want a week in the French countryside, this is a perfect place to embrace the French Joie de Vivre.

Occitanie Region: The Occitanie region has always been famous for the focus on delicious food, fabulous wines, many traditional festivals throughout the summer, wine tasting, art, music and culture, lavender distelleries, driving beautiful country roads through the vineyards, lavender and sunflower fields, picnicking in the country side next to ancient olive trees in beautiful nature or tanning on a beach or skiing in the winter.

Hiking and Biking:

Mers des Rochers: Above the village of Sauve is the famous 2 km hike over the Mer des Rochers (Sea of Rocks). This site has magical energy and a history of Sauvians being saved from invaders. Close to the sea of rocks is the vestiges of a “secret garden” on the hill, where foods were grown for royalty and to survive when under attach by invaders.

The trail is on rocks, so be sure to bring and wear good sturdy shoes, bring walking sticks if desired, carry water and bring your camera or phone camera. Take time to enjoy this magical place as the village of Sauve sits on massive rocks formations and for centuries there has been a belief that the natural stone holds powerful, restorative healing and transformative energies.

Trails nearby: Just about on every country road in the area you will find hiking signs through the fields and valleys. Hiking maps are available at the Sauve tourist office and a book of hikes in the area is available in the cottage for your use. Right at the bottom of the old Sauve village is a 45 minute walk along an old road by the river to an old Mill House. This is an easy stroll during all seasons with views of the numerous small gardens, vineyards and hills.

The Cevennes Mountains and National Park: Sauve is situated at the base of the Cevennes mountains with some of the most unspoiled natural rugged beauty in France. The Cévennes National Park covers 90,000 hectares. It is a low mountain range with Mont Lozère (1700 m) and Mont Aigoual (1565 m) as its highest peaks. The landscape is rough and savage. Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort is located at the foot of this area. From the village you have a view of the beginning hills of the Cevennes. The Cevennes area is an ideal walking, hiking, biking, mountain climbing and canoeing. See information above on driving to Anduze (Potters town) and other sites to visit.

If you are a cave dweller, there are 5-6 caves nearby to visit some of which have amazing sites.