La Bastide-D'engras: Monastery, Chapel and Nature

La Bastide-D'engras brings together several distinct points of interest for your stay: the Monastère de Solan is home to an Eastern Orthodox community of women and its Romanesque church, while the Chapelle Saint-Jean d’Orgerolles offers another religious and architectural landmark. The historic village and the natural landscapes of the Valat de Solan add to these attractions. If you are looking for hotels in La Bastide-D'engras, distinguishing between these points of interest can help you decide what to focus on during your trip.

Monastery, Church and Farm

The Monastère de Solan is an Eastern Orthodox community of women. It offers guided tours of its church. The Romanesque church has remarkable bas-reliefs, making a specific architectural feature a focal point alongside the religious community. Before visiting, it is best to check the latest visiting arrangements: schedules may change, and tours are guided.

The Monastère also includes an organically farmed estate. The monastery offers wines, vinegars, preserves, jams and fruit pastes made there. This means that Solan encompasses more than its church: alongside its religious and architectural aspects, there are also products from the estate.

Chapelle Saint-Jean d’Orgerolles and the Village

The Romanesque part of the Chapelle Saint-Jean d’Orgerolles dates from the late 11th or early 12th century. The chapel lies between La Bastide-D'engras and Pougnadoresse, 10 km from Uzès. From there, you can see the Tave plain, the Rhône, Mont Ventoux, the Alps and the Alpilles. The building’s history and the surrounding scenery offer different points of interest: the date refers to the Romanesque part of the chapel, while the view takes in several named landscapes.

The old village is also part of La Bastide-D'engras’s historic character and is a listed picturesque site. Its architectural heritage also includes a château, a tower and defensive walls, as well as two historic washhouses. These add another type of structure to the village alongside the château, tower and walls. Together, these buildings offer several specific points of interest in the area’s cultural heritage, rather than focusing on a single building.

The Natural Landscapes of the Valat de Solan

The Valat de Solan lies northeast of Uzès in the commune of La Bastide-D'engras. The Domaine de Solan comprises a varied mosaic of natural habitats: the stream and springs of the Valat de Solan, a wet tall-grass meadow, Mediterranean riparian woodland, a dry orchid-rich grassland and an evergreen oak forest. The mosaic thus ranges from water-related and wet areas to dry land and different types of woodland.

The contrast between the wet tall-grass meadow and the dry orchid-rich grassland is particularly clear. The stream and springs, along with the riparian woodland and oak forest, add to this contrast. This natural area has a different character from the buildings described above: the focus is on a mosaic of varied habitats, rather than a single architectural destination. When planning your trip, you can weigh up whether you are most interested in religious architecture, the historic village, the chapel’s scenic views or the variety of habitats on the estate.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Florent-Sur-Auzonnet, Rousson, La Rouvière, Saint-Paul-Les-Fonts, Fons, Chamborigaud, Cruviers-Lascours, Aubais

For the full travel overview: Gard.