The seventeenth century town house where I live in the South of France, with my wife Kristi, is an inspiring place to meet, create, and decompress.
Our town, Ganges, is in the foot hills of the Cévennes (national park), 50km north of the Mediterranean.
You enter through a splendid front door to be greeted by our stone staircase with its cast iron banister and original wooden handrail. The house faces onto a pedestrian-only street ; there are car-free squares a few metres in each direction. Off-street parking is 20 metres away.
The house contains: Meeting and/or talking rooms with tables, solid chairs, and sofas ; an outside terrace and courtyard to talk, eat, or ponder; a workroom-summer-kitchen; bedrooms, configured for your needs plus showers and loos.
Here below are some some of the spaces you will use:
The duplex apartment
The house contains: Meeting and/or talking rooms with tables, solid chairs, and sofas; an outside terrace and courtyard to talk, eat, or ponder; a workroom-summer-kitchen; bedrooms, configured for your needs plus showers and loos.
The studio
Summer kitchen and court yard
The town
Our house is in the historic centre of a small (4,000 people) market town. Ganges lies at the junction of the Rieutord, Hérault, and Vis rivers. We’re few minutes by foot or by bike from beautiful river swimming holes and waterfalls. The sea is 35 km away.
Our regional food market (Tuesdays and Fridays) is 100 metres away through an arched stone passageway. Shops, banks, the medical centre, a local hospital, the town hall, the cinema, the theatre – all are a couple of minutes away on foot.
The Cévennes
Ganges is southern gateway to the Cévennes National Park, a world heritage ecological site; our region is #1 for ecological health and biodiversity in France. The region’s shepherds have helped shape the landscape over centuries.
Culturally, the region has been a “terre de refuge” for centuries.
From the first Gabale tribes, to Résistance fighters in World War Two,
and eventually hippies in the 1970s, the Cévennes has long been been a
region
of dissenters, rebels, fugitives and nonconformists.
And now, you …
Food and drink
We’re not heavy on services but provide al necessities to make
coffee, tea and to cook. Think cooker, refrigerator, oven, microwave,
pots and pans etc
The market is 50m away: Tuesdays is vegetable
market; Fridays is everything. Bread, farmers shop, Organic shop, etc
are all within five minutes walk. A SuperU and a Lidl are ten minutes
walk down back streets. Various restaurants, bars, and cafes are within
five minutes walk; we’re happy to recommend.
Cooking facilities in house:
Duplex apartment : fully functional kitchen
Summer kitchen : a 2 rings gas cooker, sink with running water, 2 Fridges, BBQ in the adjacent courtyard.
Eat out : local cafes/restos: 12-15 euros per person
Accomodation
The house can sleep 8 people. The standard configuration is:
2nd floor Apartment:
family room with 1 large double bed, which can be separated
+1 single bed.
Plus a “monk’s cel” closed off with sliding door, containing one single bed.
+ bathroom and 2 WCs
Ground floor studio:
One standard double bed (140cm) and
one comfy sofa bed (single)
Ground floor yellow room:
one small double/large single (120cm) and
(a possible tatami-base with matras, single)
Ground floor spaces share the shower-room.
There are 2 WCs
The Apartment, Studio and Yellow Room have independent entries
Wifi?
Yes, there’s wifi everywhere.
Time out
Testimonials from house guests
“The amazing front door and old stone staircase makes for a grand and atmospheric entrance”
“We had a perfect stay. Very conveniently located, spacious and well equipped. The surroundings are soooooo beautiful”.
“We really loved the apartment, It’s light, airy, comfortable, and well-equipped – and for all you get, a very good price”
“the perfect place to hide out and finish writing that thesis, project proposal, or book”
“Very spacious, centrally located, and the kitchen and bathroom amenities are new”
100 words on why John and Kristi love it here:
“We
love the clean air. The fact that if you forget to buy a lemon it’s
only 100m to the market & shops. The flea market on Sunday. The fact
that Ganges is a working town, not a dormitory for commuters. The
biodiversity in the dry bed of the River Rieutord just three minutes
walk away. The happy babble of school kids walking past the house to the
sports field. The historic stone terraces of the Cevennes. The wooden
water wheels by the allotment gardens across the river. Doing nothing at
the quiet beach on the river just above the waterfall”
