Saint-Laurent-La-Vernède offers several highlights for an exploratory trip: architectural history, the former use of the washhouse and paths through the ochre landscape. For planning, you can choose between architecture, a themed circular trail or marked routes for different activities. The distance figures answer different questions; for the ochre trail in particular, it is helpful to distinguish the trail itself from the full route.

Fort, Church and Local History

The Fort of Saint-Laurent-La-Vernède is partially protected as a historic monument. A virtual tour is also available. This lets you explore the fort digitally—a separate way to learn about the building.

The Église Saint-Laurent has large arcades from the Romanesque period. Ribbed vaults are found in the nave and the choir. The architecture therefore includes specific features in different parts of the church: the arcades, and the vaults in the nave and choir.

The washhouse adds another trace of everyday life in the past to this architectural history. Its water was used to supply the nearby kitchen gardens. While the fort and church are associated with architectural forms, the washhouse points to the historical use of water.

Ochre Trail and Marked Routes

The Sentier de découverte des ocres runs through ochre cliffs in the hills of Saint-Laurent-La-Vernède and passes the industrial remains of a former ochre extraction site. The landscape and former industrial use are part of this circular trail. The route is accessible to everyone.

Two figures are useful when assessing the route: the discovery trail itself is 700 metres long. The total distance is about 3 kilometres when the return journey from the free car park is included. The two figures therefore do not describe the same route. If you want to gauge the length of the themed trail, the 700-metre figure is the relevant one; for the full route, the distance from the car park is also included.

Saint-Laurent-La-Vernède also has 280 kilometres of marked routes for walking, cycling or horse riding. This figure describes a different scale from the specific length of the ochre trail and offers a choice of activities. A guidebook to the marked routes is also available; it is sold at the Uzès tourist office for 5 euros.

If the length of a single circular trail is the deciding factor for you, the discovery trail’s 700 metres and the total distance of about 3 kilometres provide a concrete guide. If you want to consider different ways of getting around, the 280 kilometres of marked routes and their use for walking, cycling or horse riding are the relevant comparison. This way, you can choose the focus of your stay—architecture, the ochre landscape or the routes—without treating the different distance figures as equivalent.

Discover more destinations: Milhaud, Cabrières, Connaux, Saint-Julien-Les-Rosiers, La Grand'combe, Conqueyrac, Domessargues, Saint-Laurent-De-Carnols

For the overview of the wider region: Gard.