La Génèse

La Genese is a naturist site, in the Gard department of the Languedoc in southern France. It is set in the Ceze Gorge, alongside the Ceze river, in a beautiful wild area. It is a fair drive from Mejannes les Clap, the nearest village, across the plateau, and then down a fairly steep and winding hill into the site. Reception is friendly and welcoming, and open all day. The site accepts the ACSI Card and Camping Cheques.

The site is in distinct areas, Prairie, Sauvage, Colline, and others. Prairie is more central, and pitches have a lot of shade (perhaps too much on colder days, but welcome in high summer). The riverside pitches have spectacular views of the cliffs opposite, though you can’t actually see the river because of the slope. Pitches are a good size, and flat, hard packed sandy soil with some grass in the shady area, and set on well laid out terraces in the Prairie area. Access is generally good with a one way system. The water points are very limited and it might be a long trek with water to some pitches. There are a couple of external hot water points for washing up water, as well as sinks for washing up, and clothes washing. There is a small ‘laundry’ behind the reception building. There is a large pebble beach in the Prairie area, as well as an even larger one in the area called Sauvage The swimming pool, sauna, bar, restaurant, and shop are all around the ‘Prairie’ section of the site. There is also WiFi access on these pitches at an extra charge. Pitches on the Sauvage area are quieter, and perhaps less shady, and some have stunning views over the river and some are in a lovely open position on the riverbank. There are several washblocks in all areas, and these were all immaculately clean. Showers are all communal.

The shop is small, and with a limited range of products, though actually you could buy everything you need. Bread is available, and national newspapers. The restaurant does a fantastic value three course ‘Menu’ with wine for 12 euros. We ate there and our meal was excellent. The restaurant is popular and I would imagine booking is necessary in high season. The bar was only open on the first day we were there (24th August) and entertainment takes place in the bar in high season. There is (or was???) a disco though this didn’t look as if it had been open recently, and it is quietly situated so even if open shouldn’t prove intrusive to most pitches.

The pools are in a sunny, flat area, in the Prairie section of the site, and there are plenty of loungers and sunbathing areas. The sauna cabin is adjacent to the pool area.

The main attraction here is undoubtedly the river. There are other naturist sites in the area (Domaine de Sabliere, and Ran de Chabrier, which are both on the other side of the river) so a very long section of the Ceze is completely accessible to naturists. There are area of deeper water for swimming, rocks for sunbathing, and islands in the middle of the river for a quite spot.

There area masses of sight-seeing opportunities in the area. The Gorges of the Ardeche are within easy distance, the wonderful Saturday market at Uzes, Les Concluses, the Cascades de Sautadet, Sabran, the Guidon de Bouquet, Goudargues, and many other wonderful places - including an amazing 'old tractor and farm machinery museum' that we must go back to and have a look around. Mejannes has some small shops and a programme of guided walks and visits, and is an old village which is obviously being heavily developed.

All in all, a lovely site, in an idyllic setting, and somewhere we would definitely go back to.