We live in Barjac (or rather: close to Barjac) in the Gard department (30) in the region of Occitania (which is still better known by its old name of Languedoc-Roussillon). In terms of larger cities, Nîmes, Avignon, Montélimar and Aubenas are the nearest.

We rented the cottage we occupy indefinitely: having previously spent over a year in a rented apartment in Nîmes, we wanted to return to the peace and quiet of the countryside. Our house used to be rented by the week, but the owners stripped it of most of its furniture so that our stuff could fit in. Since November 22, 2023, we have been living here. We have named it “Domaine de la Costette” because the area where the house is located is known as “La Costette”.

Click here for pictures of La Costette.

Our address is 260 chemin de la Filature, 30430 BARJAC. The “filature” is a former silk factory, which is still recognizable in the building next to us. This building dates back to 1826 and is listed. It is still owned by the heirs of the Griolet family, and it’s used as a holiday home, although its completely dilapidated state makes this odd.

The Domaine de la Costette is just far enough away from the road not to be bothered by its noise, and just close enough to the lively center of Barjac to go there on foot: along a somewhat steep route one reaches the old picturesque town center, with a weekly market, with its restaurants and terraces and stores and services.

La Costette consists of two vaulted ‘caves’, with a spacious terrace-with-summer-kitchen attached. On top of those caves (because of the regular flooding by the famous “pluies Cévenoles” or the rains of the Cevennes), on the second floor, are the living room, dining room, lounge and one bedroom and bathroom. On the second floor are three more bedrooms and a bathroom. We use one of these rooms as a guest room, with its own shower and toilet. The ambiance of La Costette is the complete opposite of the modern, but sterile flat in Nîmes where we lived before Barjac: it is an old, even worn out, building, but it has character.

We settled here during the coldest time of the year, but even then we could already enjoy the huge garden, the summer terrace and the equipped kitchen that is part of it. In spring and summer we spent most of our evenings there, sheltered from both sun and rain!

Since we are not the only ones to like this village and this region, we would like to invite all our friends and family to come and stay in our guest room; the region at the border of the Gard and the Ardêche has a lot to offer and we are happy to act as guides and interpreters…