Sussargues, the hinterland half an hour from the sea
Sussargues has 2,840 inhabitants in the Montpellieran hinterland, half an hour from the Mediterranean and one hour from the first cevenol heights. Like many villages in "argues" of the region, its name comes from a Gallo-Roman estate, here that of a certain Surtius. Two hundred and twenty-eight establishments are located in the municipality, more than one fifth of them in construction, today the first local activity area. Nevertheless, the village remains marked by viticulture, which has shaped its landscape for centuries, with a handful of farms still in operation today, far from the 25 recorded in the 1988 agricultural census.
28 minutes to the hinterland
From Saint-Jean-de-Védas, it takes 28 minutes for 28.4 kilometers, a journey that crosses the agglomeration before reaching the more open landscapes of north-east Montpellieran. It is a half-day trip rather than an improvised round trip.
Stone quarries at the outdoor stage
The Sussargues quarries have long provided a soft and light yellow shell limestone, extracted by hand until the mid-20th century and used in many buildings in Montpellier. One of them, the career of the Font d'Armand, has been converted into outdoor shows : concerts, street cuisines and local wine tastings are the rhythm of summer evenings, in a mineral setting that few villages near the hinterland can offer to their visitors.
11th century church and bell tower
The Saint Martin church of Sussargues was mentioned in 1011 and has been listed as historical monuments since 1977. Its bell, made by the master founder Jean Poutingon and classified as a historic monument in its own right, dates from 1737, a respectable age for an object still in use. From the first Romanesque building, only the southern wall, with its column decor, is still in place; the rest was redesigned in the 19th century, with a campanile added in 1845 and then equipped with a clock in 1889.
A village that organizes its year around the arts
Sussargues' calendar of dense programming for its size is a spring of artists exhibiting local designers, a votive party in mid-June, a festival mixing concerts and tastings in careers at the beginning of July, an open-air screening in August, a bodega of associations in the fall, and guitar concerts in autumn. The village also hosts, for some years, meetings of the festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, which radiates in several municipalities of the metropolis and attracts an audience far beyond the hinterland. Sussargues has been paired with Lahntal in Germany since 1986, a long-standing link for a municipality of this size.
For whom this step makes sense
- An outdoor concert The Sussargues quarries offer a rare mineral setting, to be combined with a quiet night in Saint-Jean-de-Védas rather than a long return journey.
- A discovery of the wine heritage of the hinterland : the village maintains a marked agricultural identity, between stone quarries and vines.
- Northeast getaway Sussargues is easily combined with Castries or Vendargues for half a day in the Montpellieran hinterland.
Studio or duplex before an outdoor concert
For a two-night evening before a career concert, the studio enough, with its double bed and working space for the day. In groups, the duplex offers two bedrooms, three beds and a washing machine. Both units are in the city centre of Saint-Jean-de-Védas, with no minimum stay to be respected. To the northeast, the page dedicated to Castries extends the selection of hinterland municipalities.
