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A picturesque town on the banks of the Vidourle, set in an area of forested hills, vineyards and orchards.
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Also: |
Sauve town map |
Fontbouisse Culture |
Nearby: |
Ales 30 km |
Causse Oppidum 20 km |
Corconne 13 km |
Ganges 22 km |
Nîmes 40 km |
Quissac 6 km |
Saint Hippolyte-du-Fort 9 km |
Saint Mathieu-de-Tréviers 33 km |
Vacquières 16 km |
Villevieille 27 km |
Hotels near Sauve: |
30 km Ales |
40 km Nîmes |
A large enough town to have a good selection of shops, restaurants and cafés. Medieval-narrow streets and step-streets, vaulted passages and interesting old houses. Vestiges remain of the old ramparts and fortified entries.
The stone arched bridge (Le Vieux Pont) is 12th century [Photo-01].
History
Prehistoric:
The saltpeter grotto of Coutach, on a hilltop 2 km southeast, was a burial site of the Fontbouisse Culture.
Celto-Ligurian:
Sauve was the ancient capital of the Salavès.
Gallo-Roman:
In a hilly area called Mus, 3 km northwest, is a Pre-Roman oppidum with Gallo-Roman remains.
Medieval:
Sauve was a feudal domain of the Bermonds, princes and satraps of the region. It was the seat of a Benedictine abbey founded in 1029 by Garsinde, second wife of the lord of Anduze and Sauve; attached to the Abbey of Saint-Victor of Marseille in 1366.
In 1293, the Barony of Sauve was traded to the Bishops of Maguelonne in exchange for a part of the town of Montpellier.
Office de Tourisme Intercommunal Quissac - Sauve
Place René Isouard - BP 17
Tel : 04 66 77 57 51; Fax: 04 66 77 05 99
Web: www.vallee-vidourle.com
Dates
Market: Every Sat - 6h - 14h
Museums & Sites
Fun
Pitchfork Conservatory - Le Conservatoire de la Fourche
A museum about making pitchforks from the nettle-tree (micocoulier). The micocoulier has been used for centuries to make pitchforks, by guiding the growth of the branches into the iconing three-pronged shape.
Location:
Les Cazernes
Open: Apr-Sept, daily, 9h30-12h30, 15-19h; Oct-March: Wed-sun, 14h-17h and School vacation days 14h-17h.
Tel: 0466 805 466
Hiking
Maps:
IGN (1/25,000) #2741 ET "St Hyppollyte-du-Fort, Anduze, St-Jean-du-Gard"
IGN (1/25,000) #2742 ET "Ganges, St-Martin-de-Londres, Pic St-Loup"
The GR63 Grandes Randonnées passes through Sauve. Six km to the north, the GR63 goes through the village of Dufort, then northwest via Monoblet amd Colognac and beyond, joining with the GR67.
In the other direction, the GR63 goes southeast about 5 km to Quissac, then east to Moulézan, Fons, Gajan and la Calmette.
There's an 8-km loop hike (PR - petite randonée) south of Sauve, beginning (and ending) at the Medieval-village end of the arched stone bridge of Sauve. Part of this trail is along the Chemin de Vache Morte (Dead Cow lane).
Sauve is surrounded by thicky forested hills, with unmarked trails and forestry roads, ripe for map-and-compass exploration.
Lodging - Hotels
Hotels in Towns Nearby to Sauve
• 30 km — Ales hotels
• 40 km — Nîmes hotels
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Photo gallery of 6 photos for Sauve