Alès is the southern gateway to the Cévennes, a working town on the Gardon rather than a polished hill village. It grew on coal, silk, and industry, and that gives it a blunt, useful character: trains, markets, museums, and quick access to the valleys and ridges that make the Cévennes worth the trip.
The town's own sights are modest but genuine. The Mine Temoin tells the coal-mining story underground, Fort Vauban watches over the centre, and the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist keeps the old core anchored. The Musee Pierre-Andre Benoit adds a surprisingly strong modern-art note.
Come to Alès for practicality rather than romance. It is a good railhead for walkers finishing the Stevenson Trail, a base for Cévennes drives, and a place where the mountains' Protestant, mining, and rural histories meet without much tourist varnish.