Camping Le Gabitou

A whole bunch of activities are available in the Cévennes National Park (15 minutes’ drive), from horse riding to mountain biking and climbing. Try canyoning and scrambling up the via ferrata course at La Maison du Plein Air des Gorges du Tarn (10 minutes), or go climbing on the limestone escarpments of the Parc Naturel des Grands Causses (half an hour). You can also pick up canoes on site and paddle down the River Tarn to the soaring river bridge at Saint-Chély-du-Tarn (10 minutes by road); take provisions with you for a picnic on the river beach overlooking the bridge. Have a potter around the attractive stone-built hamlet with its backdrop of sheer cliffs, and then head up to Le Saltadou observation point (20 minutes) for spectacular views over the Gorges du Tarn. La Malène (15 minutes) is another pretty Lozère village; have a wander through its cobbled streets to the 12th-century Romanesque church and the troglodyte caves at the foot of the gorge walls. For all you keen walkers, it’s also on the GR736 Gorges et Vallée du Tarn long-distance hiking route.