Saint-Gély-du-Fesc, between hills and Pic Saint-Loup
Saint-Gély-du-Fesc has 10,472 inhabitants, less than ten kilometres north of Montpellier, on the Ganges road. The village occupies a 16.6-square-kilometre valley crossed by the Pézoillet, a tributary of the Mosson, whose source of the Lironde also marks the territory, framed by hills that exceed 200 metres. Unlike most municipalities in this sector, it does not belong to the agglomeration of Montpellier : it is part of the community of communes of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup, of which it is the largest agglomeration with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Georges Brassens, last address
Poet and songwriter Georges Brassens moved to Saint-Gély-du-Fesc in April 1981 and died there on 29 October of the same year. This is one of the highlights of the recent history of the municipality, which remains discreet over this period of its life.
Coulondres Park and Saint-Gilles Church
The park of Coulondres-Philippe-Eldridge extends over 18 hectares, with a botanical path where several Mediterranean species cross, an easy exit from the centre of the village. The Bois de la Vierge Park and Fontgrande Park complete the offer of green areas in the municipality. The parish church of Saint-Gilles surmounts its bell tower of an iron campanile which houses a bell classified as a historical monument, melted in 1759 by the master fondeur Jean Poutingon. The First World War Memorial to the Dead completes the village's heritage landmarks.
Prehistoric remains and a votive feast
The sites of the Vautes, the Rouergas and the Dead Man's Hill delivered remains of the Neolithic, dated about 4,000 years B.C.E. Closer to us, the Saint-Gilles votive festival, celebrated in late August or early September, gathers several Camargua manades each year around traditional taurines races, the encierro, the bandido and the abrivado. The village also hosts a craft salon and a photo festival, Objectif Image, in the course of the year. The municipality has 1,230 establishments, of which 264 are specialised and administrative, while wine-growing still occupies 9 holdings in 2020, compared with 52 in 1988 on a used agricultural area of 258 hectares.
Join Saint-Gély-du-Fesc from the accommodation
It takes 16.4 kilometers and about 22 minutes by car to reach Saint-Gély-du-Fesc from the accommodation, in fluid circulation. The municipality has no trams : it joins by car, crossing the north of the agglomeration, by roads less loaded than those in the centre of Montpellier at peak times.
For whom this address is convenient
- A walk to Coulondres Park : the botanical trail is suitable for a quiet family walk.
- A cultural step : for lovers of Georges Brassens, curious to see where the poet spent his last months.
- A starting point towards the Pic Saint-Loup Saint-Gély-du-Fesc opens the road to the community of communes of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup and its villages of garrigue, without returning to the centre of Montpellier.
Studio or duplex for a stay near Saint-Gély-du-Fesc
The studio, with its work space and mobile air conditioning, is suitable for a short stay, between park and heritage, for two travellers: the studio. The duplex offers more space for a family that extends the exit to the villages of Pic Saint-Loup, with its two bedrooms and washing machine: the duplex. The two units are located in the centre of Saint-Jean-de-Védas, with an independent arrival per key box.
To continue north, the page dedicated to Combaillaux details a nearby village, on the same road towards Pic Saint-Loup.
