Description:

Geography

The Grandes Causses Natural Park is located at the base of the Cevennes National Park close to Millau in the Aveyron department.  There are four major plateaux;

• Causse de Comtal
• Causse de Severac
• Causse de Noir
• Causse de Larzac

The limestone plateau of the park have been cut through by tributaries of the Tarn which have formed deep and spectacular gorges including the most famous, the Gorges du Tarn.

The aims of the Regional Natural Parks are to protect and enhance the natural environment whilst encouraging use of the land and sustainable, environmentally friendly development.  They are established where there in predominantly rural areas that require protection to maintain the cultural heritage and natural environment.

Tourism

The Millau viaduct that was opened in 2004 is in the very heart of the park.  It is the highest road bridge in the world and is a massive feat of engineering excellence.

Millau is a pleasant town to visit and nearby Albi in the Tarn department has a number of historic buildings and is situated on the River Tarn.

The park is also home to structures on a much smaller scale that date back to 5000 BC, known as dolmens.  These are structures made from huge pieces of rock that had various uses including burial chambers.

One world renowned product from the area is Roquefort cheese and there are many opportunities to taste and buy the mouldy fromage in the area of the park.

To get away from it all, there are many hiking routes across the Causses and the park authority has established a large number of orientation boards providing information and indicating points of interest.  With the numerous gorges, cliffs and valleys, the hiking is both enjoyable and challenging.

The park is home to a number of protected species including the griffon vulture that was reintroduced in 1981.  There are also 1500 species of plant and many types of orchid.

Economy

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy with livestock production being important.  There are many local products including, goats cheese, cherries, honey and saffron.

Sustainable tourism is becoming extremely important and is an area that partly accounted for the formation of the Natural Park Authority.

Transport

By car

The A75 motorway runs right through the Natural Park, making access very easy from north or south.  From Toulouse, the park is around two forty five minutes drive and from Clermont-Ferrand just over two hours.

By train

There is a mainline station at Millau and TGV stations at Montauban and Toulouse.

By air

The nearest airport is Rodez which is serviced by Ryanair from Stansted and internal flights from Paris.  Toulouse offers a greater array of International flights and Montpellier has flights from Ryaniar.

For more details, have a look at our travel pages.

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