The Radiance of the Cevennes

Looping hikes begin from the guesthouse L'Etoile, nestled just steps from the La Bastide-Saint-Laurent-les-Bains train station. This house is located on the Cévenol line between Nîmes and Clermont-Ferrand, which crosses through the Cévennes.

Imagine a burst of golden broom in the Cévennes, a symphony of wind and color, a requiem for the abandoned highlands. Embark on a hiking adventure along the ridges of the GR®7 between La Bastide and Belvezet, along the Allier on Stevenson’s trail between Langogne and La Bastide, the Régordane Way via La Garde-Guérin, or the GR®72 by the Abbey of Notre Dame des Neiges up to Saint Laurent les Bains and Loubaresse. The Cévennes await, ready to dazzle and move you!

Star-shaped hikes begin from the guesthouse "L'Etoile," nestled just steps away from the La Bastide-Saint-Laurent-les-Bains station. This house is located on the Cévenol line between Nîmes and Clermont-Ferrand, which crosses the Cévennes. This small station is a "railway hub" as one track heads towards Mende, offering many route possibilities.

Your shoes will have walked through the history of these Cévennes, with their breathtaking landscapes! Every evening, you'll return to the atmosphere of L'Etoile: the space, the light, the guest table, Belgian beers on the terrace, homemade bread, evening herbal tea, the fire in the fireplace, Philippe's piano concertos (Gurdjieff and De Hartmann perhaps?), a comfortable, restful night, and all the tomorrows on other trails or a day of sightseeing in Puy-en-Velay, Pradelles, La Garde-Guérin, or swimming in the Borne or Villefort Lake!

"My Cévennes" in Toulouse. The other evening, I had the privilege of welcoming Philippe, also known as the gold seeker, the cowboy of American ranches, the cycling king from Belgium to Greece, the friendly manager of L'Etoile. He was passing through my lovely city of Toulouse, still quite sad since the explosion last September 21st. We "navigated" from Brussels to Toulouse, from Prague to the United States and Australia, always with that backdrop of this corner of the Cévennes where Philippe has created a place of life that everyone can appreciate and love, provided they take the time to listen, feel, walk, and open their eyes and heart wide! And Philippe the adventurer, Radka the Prague native, and Billy the placid dog, hit the road again at night, heading towards other skies, towards other "fans" of L'Etoile, towards Bayonne and Bordeaux!

…I found my Cévennes again… in freedom!… nothing but joy after a few years of unfaithfulness!...

La Bastide-Puylaurent at 1024 meters in altitude… the L'Etoile guesthouse and its maestro Philippe… this unique guesthouse, a crossroads of European encounters, it’s always with great emotion that I board the TER from Nîmes to Mende through this Cévennes mountain! Nîmes, Alès, La Grand Combe, Chamborigaud, Génolhac, and Villefort.

From the Protestant Cévennes to the Catholic Cévennes, magnificently described by writer and storyteller Jean Pierre Chabrol (who now rests near Chamborigaud). Deep valleys, bare summits, chestnut forests, lost and perched hamlets, and those golden broom plants covering these once-populated highlands now abandoned.

Philippe will welcome you to this former holiday hotel, which he has transformed and beautified with his own hands over the years. Bright and comfortable rooms, a large communal room with its guest table where hikers gather each evening to share the dinner prepared by the maestro, and a large fireplace.

I must not forget the terrace under the arbor, where it is lovely to enjoy a Belgian beer, and the nearby cabin by the Allier, flowing along the park below the tall white building. A real little paradise for the night!

Come and discover these Cévennes and L'Etoile. You will leave enchanted! By Christian Lalanne