Bessas

Identity

Bessas (INSEE 07033) is in Ardèche (07), part of CC des Gorges de l'Ardèche. Population 234 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/07033-bessas

Vitality score

Vitality score 27.6/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 79 % of the 16,894 communes of a similar size.

Compare this with communes of a similar size. The score measures how well a place is served relative to its own size band, and larger communes score higher as a rule — so it reads meaningfully against another village, and misleadingly against a town.

Measured but not scored in this model: Market. See the methodology for why.

Services

Somewhere to eat or drink, but no food shop and no school. ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (LES GRANGES). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (PLEIN SUD CAFE GALERIE). ^[4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING LA FONTINELLE). ^[3]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), Primary school (élémentaire), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Post office / agence postale, Library. ^[3,4]

Market and village life

Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.

Trajectory

Population 192 (2012) → 234 (2023): 21.9 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 147 (1990) → 234 (2023): 59.2 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 222, of which 41.4 % second homes and 5.9 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Vagnas): 4.7 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Grospierres): 4.5 km to the north-west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Barjac): 5.3 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

Pharmacy (Barjac): 5.5 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Vagnas): 5.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 52 days a year at or above 30 °C and 47 days at or below 0 °C, over 20 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the ST-SAUVEUR SA weather station, 6.3 km away at 149 m; the village itself is at 265 m. ^[11]

The village sits 116 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 6.06 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at ST-SAUVEUR SA, 6.3 km away at 149 m, over 12 summers. ^[11]

That station sits 116 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.69 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[11]

An average of 1,008 mm of rain a year, spread over 78 days — about 12.9 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at BESSAS, 0.5 km away at 251 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

16 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 246,000 € — 2,727 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

The median across Ardèche is 1,839 € per m², so this commune sits above it. ^[12]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 07033/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 07033/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 07033/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 07033/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 07328
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 07101
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 30029
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025