Roquedols Castle
Meyrueis

Roquedols Castle

Architecture and village
History and culture
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Starting in Meyrueis, this family walk leads you to a very handsome 16th century castle. Nearby are French formal gardens and one of the many arboretums created during the reforestation of the Aigoual massif.

3 points of interest

  • History

    Indoctrinated youth

    On the Ferrussac road, the association Anciens des Chantiers de Jeunesse has erected a memorial stone.
    The chantiers de jeunesse (youth work sites) were established by the Vichy regime in July 1940 in the French Free Zone to ensure that youths exempted from military service for various reasons received physical and doctrinal training for eight months. About 6,000 youths from Work Site 19, “Roquedols’s Young Foresters”, were spread out in the surroundings of Meyrueis. They carried out forestry work and made charcoal. The work sites were operational from 1940 to 1944.
  • History

    The formal garden and the buildings

    Marker 7
    Life was good at Roquedols in the late 19th century! Madame Dol transformed the Estate, embellishing the promenade with a chestnut avenue and formal garden. They might almost make you forget the Estate’s history of agriculture and forestry, except that its buildings – the former farm outbuildings later turned into a sawmill – are such visible reminders of it.

  • Architecture

    The village of Meyrueis

    The geographical location of Meyrueis is remarkable, nestled between the Aigoual massif, the causse Noir and the causse Méjean. Here the Camin Ferrat crosses the Jonte river. Pilgrims and transhumant flocks of sheep stopped in the village before continuing their journey. Many merchants came to its large fairs. Stroll through the lanes and relive the flourishing past of the belle époque. From the prosperous bourgeois residences to the marketplaces, everything still speaks of the past! Sheep’s wool from the plateaux was woven here, silk was spun. There was intense economic activity. In the 17th century, Meyrueis became a centre for hat-making. By 1860, 17 milliners were busy making hats for Languedoc and Provence, beautiful and exceptionally high-quality hats made from felted wool and silk bourette. Discontinued as of about 1920, this activity left room for tourism, which today animates the village.

Description

From Place du Champ de Mars, take the tarred road on the right and walk alongside a disused béal (irrigation channel) to the Gymnase.
  1. At the gymnasium, take the GR®6A long-distance hiking path on the left, which steadily climbs to the Col de Tribes pass (altitude 783 m).
  2. At the pass, take the path all the way on the right, which passes under some Scots pines, to La Clède.
  3. At the crossroads, take the track on your right for a few dozen metres until it comes out onto a wide forestry track. Turn right onto this track to reach the Ferrusssac road.
  4. At the road, turn right and, after about 50 m, turn left onto the track suitable for motor vehicles, which, after crossing the Béthuzon river, leads to Roquedols castle.
  5. Once you have walked around the castle, head north between two chestnut hedges and go through a forged iron gate that symbolises the entrance to the property. Walk alongside the fields that make up Roquedols estate. Once on the tarmac road, take it on the left for 230 m.
  6. Then take the first road on the right. Walk through the neighbourhoods of Meyrueis and, by the Hôtel de l'Europe, cross the bridge on the right to get back to the car park.
  • Departure : Meyrueis
  • Arrival : Meyrueis
  • Towns crossed : Meyrueis

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Make sure your equipment is appropriate for the day’s weather conditions. Remember that the weather changes quickly in the mountains. Take enough water, wear sturdy shoes and put on a hat. Please close all gates and barriers behind you.
Is in the midst of the park
The national park is an unrestricted natural area but subjected to regulations which must be known by all visitors.

Information desks

Tourism'house and national Parc at Florac

Place de l'ancienne gare, N106, 48400 Florac-trois-rivières

https://www.cevennes-gorges-du-tarn.cominfo@cevennes-parcnational.fr04 66 45 01 14

This office is part of the National Park's associated tourist-information network, whose mission is to provide information on, and raise awareness of, the sites and events as well as the rules that must be observed in the National Park's central zone.

On site:  exhibitions, video projections, events and shop Open year-round

Find out more

Transport

Bus stop: Office de tourisme, place Sully
  • Bus line 259 Mende - Sainte Enimie - Meyrueis
  • Bus line 215  « Millau – Peyreleau - Meyrueis »
https://lio.laregion.fr/

Access and parking

Meyrueis, D 986.

Parking :

Champ de Mars car park

Source

CC Gorges Causses Cévenneshttps://www.gorgescaussescevennes.fr/
Parc national des Cévenneshttp://www.cevennes-parcnational.fr/

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