Goudargues

• Gard (30630) • Population: 1,042

Goudargues is a small town by the Cèze river, on the east side of a large forested area called the Bois de Goudargues. This is a great place to stop at on a journey, either for vacationing or while passing through.

There are several terrace café-restaurants beneath huge shade trees and alongside a picturesque and cooling canal. • Market day Wed.

Ardèche Gorges |

Goudargues Canal

We've seen Goudargues mentioned as the "Venice of the Gard". This is probably an exageration, but the town does have a large canal flowing through the center.

Where the canal enters the town it's very wide and arranged as a mini waterland, with water flora, ducks, swans and fish.

The canal pass then passes through the very center of town, lined with café-restaurant terraces on both sides, small bridges crossing, and the the main road and a shopping street outside the terraces. A double line of huge platans provide excellent shade, and lovely reflections in the water.

On the downstream side, the canal widens into a very large basin (or small rectangular lake), complete with swans. A "lake-side" restaurant at the end of the basin is a very lovely place for dining.

Dates

Market day: Wed.

Hiking

• GPS: 44.215063, 4.468346

Maps

IGN (1/25,000) #2940 OT "Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Pont-St-Exprit, Forets de Valbonne et"

"Entre Cèze et Ardèche", map+info (1:30'000)

Transportation Goudargues

Department 30, Gard Buses

See Beyond's Gard Department Bus Schedules for Gard bus-lines maps and bus-line schedules (Horaires).

Maps (Plans) for the Gard bus lines are on the www.edgard.fr website, with a flash webpage for each of five zones around Nîmes (www.edgard-transport.fr/plan/?rub_code=5).

Schedules for the Gard bus lines are available via the www.edgard.fr website horaires page (www.edgard-transport.fr/horaires/?rub_code=23).