ImagineFrance

As well as being a magnet for bonbon buffs, the town of Uzès half an hour away is famed for its midweek and Saturday markets, where you can fill your boots (and even car boots) with local olives, cheese and sausage. Flowers are on sale at the market too; if you’re after a pot or two to put them in, the village of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie also half an hour away has some 20 ceramicists busily churning original and traditional numbers out in their workshops. (Good present for Gran, especially if you’ve eaten all the cheese…) For wanderings away from town and under the earth, make for Aven d’Orgnac (half an hour) to tour the network of limestone caverns and prehistoric caves; there are further geological attractions among the rippling underground halls of the Saint Marcel caves and under the natural bridge of Pont d’Arc (both 50 minutes). Don't miss out on stuff above ground, either: the gorges of the Ardèche river are terrific terrain for hiking, horse riding and river rafting, and dotted with lookout points for prizewinning views and photos. If you want even more altitude after that, zipwire your way through the trees at St-Julien-de-Peyrolas (half an hour), or cross the 160-foot Roman aqueduct of Pont du Gard, 45 minutes away.