A former mining town, Ales has become over the years an attractive city, with its numerous fountains and river that runs through directly in front of its brasseries. The centre is made up of pedestrianized narrow streets with some good shops and boutiques, all streets leading down or up to newly installed fountains and the river. Surrounding Ales are commercial boulevards which are easy to access and choc-a-bloc with big name stores: M. Bricolage, Cora, Conforama, and dozens more. Handy for shopping for those coming to Uzes and the Cevennes foothills, with a good selection of all the usual supermarkets - Cora, Marche and Hyper U, Ed and Lidls (spelling?). For sightseers/activity buffs,there is a brand new leisure pool in the centre of Ales, numerous mountain walks and rock-climbing activities closeby. There is a mining museum, several open-air swimming pools in villages nearby, paragliding and parascending from a mountaintop 15 minutes away and canoeing and beautiful river swimming just 15 minutes away where you can enjoy swimming in waterfalls too, followed by rock-climbing if you dare!
We love Ales and each year it is being discovered by more Brits who not only holiday here but come to live permanently at the foot of its wonderful hills.