Le Guischet
Beaumont
Ardèche
What to do ?
When ? Where ?
Every morning brings a different and fantastic sunrise and a breath-taking view.
'Le Guischet' is hidden deep on a slope at Issac, a hamlet of the village Beaumont.
To get to this elevated position you have to drive on roads becoming more and more narrow.
First from Joyeuse towards Les Deux Aygues, then continuing until Les Pauzes, where you will leave the main road and will climb to 'Le Guischet'.
This route will let you discover the marvellous Valley of the River Drobie that is a part of the Pays Beaume-Drobie of the Cevennes Ardèchoises countryside.
On arrival you will find, “far from the madding crowd”, peace, tranquillity and an impressive silence.
At night there is a spectacular starry sky free from any light pollution
There are a few other holiday houses nearby (but no direct visual contact) and also the municipal farm,
La Ferme de Fabrou (www.fermedefabrou).
You can have some lovely walks that start straight from our holiday house or from Beaumont village centre. There are a lot of well signposted walks to discover the area.
Close to the holiday house, at 4 km, you can swim in the River Drobie , which is calmer than the River Ardèche.
It is also the place to be for those who are addicted to fly-fishing : the great challenge is to catch a rainbow trout called the fario.
From the 25th of April 2015, you will have the great and unique opportunity of visiting the replica of the
Chauvet Cave situated beside the Vallon-Pont-d’Arc centre.
This cave, discovered on December 18, 1994, contains the earliest known and best preserved figurative cave paintings of the whole world, as much as 400 animal paintings have been counted, as well as other evidence of Upper Palaeolithic life, which is approximately dated
30000-32000 BP.
This facsimile cave "Cave Chauvet 2" will be the largest and most representative in the world.
The cave has now been approved as a UNESCO World Heritage site (June 2014).
(www.culture.gouv.fr/.../chauvet/fr).
The nearby medieval towns to visit are Joyeuse with its 'Museum of the Chestnut'
( www.castanea-ardeche.com ) and Largentière with its silk museum
( www.aumoulinet.com ).
Not to be missed are the following typical towns : Antraigues, Les Vans, Labeaume with its famous festival “ Labeaume en musique” ( www.labeaume-festival.org )
(35 km), and also the villages classified as “The most beautiful villages of France” Balazuc (30 km) and Vogüé (40 km).
These villages are situated on the River Ardèche, with many small beaches and opportunities for canoeing.
A must to see are the Gorges de l’Ardèche starting from the Pont d’Arc , a natural arch, at the beginning of the canyon.
A must do walk with several splendid views and interesting artistic discoveries is the 'Sentier des Lauzes' walk starting in the neighbouring municipality Saint-Mélany (www.surlesentierdeslauzes.fr).
For garden and rose lovers there is the 'Rose Garden of Berty' to visit (www.roserai-de-berty.com).
For those looking for winter activities, there is the ski resort of
la Croix de Bauzon with 9 alpine ski slopes only one hour's drive away. There is also the possibility to practise sledging, snow walking and cross country skiing. Before planning a winter holiday you should be aware of the winter conditions for that time. Winter conditions in the Ardèche region can be fickle (www.croixdebauzon.com).
For children there is the Adventure Parc at Jaujac
(www.ardeche-aventure.com) or a visit to the Crocodile Farm at Pierrelatte (www.lafermeauxcrocodiles.com).
Other excursions, for example, can be made to Le Pont du Gard, Avignon, Nîmes, Montpellier or the Camargue. These can be made as a day trip within a 1 to 3 hour's drive by car from 'Le Guischet'.
For the lovers of nature, there is a whole range of choices: the Ray Pic Waterfall, the Gerbier de Jonc Mountain (where the source of the river Loire is located), the basalt formations and the Devils Bridge at Thueyts, where a "via ferrata" (a protected climbing route) is also installed,
the Tower of Brison site, or even a 4 day walk on the Massive of the Tanargue. This is also the site where the last remaining transhumance (seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures) of the Ardèche department takes place and is also the place to be for green tourism. ( www.ardeche-guide.com/.../le-massif-du-tanargue )
You can also discover the whole region of the Parc Naturel Régional des Monts d’Ardèche departing from 'Le Guischet'
Nearby, at Joyeuse, you will find tennis courts, several good restaurants with pleasant terraces, all kinds of shops, bakeries and a supermarket.
Every Wednesday morning the largest market of the region takes place.
We can advise you on the different weekly markets occurring in the area,
as well as in the summer season, the evening markets, flea markets, car boot and antiques sales. There are several tourist sites, walking tracks, vineyards and castles to visit in the South of the Ardèche region.
There are also a lot of entertainment and sporting activities in the area.
At the holiday house there is a fully documented brochure with information leaflets available.
You can also consult information distributed by the different public services of the region.
www.decouverte-monts-ardeche.fr
It is up to you to make it the perfect holiday...