Holiday Apartments,

rue de la République in the heart of medieval UZES,

Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon, FRANCE

View of the Duché from the Artist's apartment window

Uzès, the most beautiful town of its size in France, was declared a national treasure in the sixties by André Malraux, then minister of culture. The towers of its Duché dominate the skyline. Built from the white limestone on which it stands, it is the perfect place to forget about time, relax, and lose yourself in the maze of little streets full of shops, cafés, restaurants and historic sites, or to walk in the shady river valley, inspect the remains of the Roman aqueduct and the spring which once supplied it.. The market stalls and small shops contain a wide variety of fresh local produce - olives, spices, fish, wine, lavender, honey, cheese and provençal fabrics. Uzès is  ideally situated for visiting the area: Nîmes, Arles, Avignon,  St Remy-de-Provence, the Cévennes and the Camargue.

The climate: We reckon to have the best weather in France and a privileged position. Further South the Pyrenees attract the rain, and the Côte d'Azur to the East, though warmer in winter is certainly also wetter. To the North the depressions pass from South West to North East usually skimming the Cevennes but missing the Mediteranran coast between Montpellier and Marseille. The proportion of sunny days per year is around 80-90% and from mid April to mid October the afternoon temperature is normally over 20°. Our winters can be cold but you can always enjoy a coffee in the sun, sheltered from the wind in the place aux Herbes. For more detail see this site

Come to Uzès in winter! All the great sites are oprn, le Pont du Gard, le Palais des Papes in Avignon...But the crowds are gone. Normally lots of sunshine and very little rain. Special rates for long lets.

Uzès hosts an annual Dance Festival in June, 'Les Nuits Musicales' a classical music festival from mid July with concerts in the courtyard of the Duché and in the 17th century cathedral. Even out of season Uzès puts on special events like the Day of the Truffle in January or the Donkey Festival in September. A Pottery Market and an Artists' Market are held in the Spring. During the Fête Votive in August barriers line the boulevards and bulls run the circuit while horsemen attempt to herd them together.

Pronunciation of Uzès! U as in the u of beautiful, zès to rhyme with 'less'

Tourist Office site:

http://www.uzes-tourisme.com

Visits and Activities

Next to the cathedral stands the romanesque bell tower, la Tour Fenestrelle with its rows of Pisan style arches. Beyond there is a terrace with a view over the Vallée de l'Eure, a sheer drop down to the river Alzon and the remains of the Roman aqueduct, which took water from the a massive spring, la Source de l'Eure through the hills to Nîmes, crossing the river Gardon by means of the Pont du Gard. The landscape between Uzès and the Cévennes is of rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves and garrigue, - wilderness, covered in dwarf ilex, wild thyme, box and rosemary. There are beautiful walks along the rivers which cut through the hills, where they slice out deep gorges.

There is good river bathing, canoeing, rock climbing and pony trekking. There are many lovely villages nearby, like St Quentin-la-Poterie which lives up to its name or Vézenobre which scrambles up an impossibly steep hillside. There is an open air swimming pool 5 minutes walk from the apartment.

• 10 minutes away: the Roman Pont du Gard - photographs do nothing to prepare you for the scale and grandeur of this 2000 year old feat of engineering
•  30 minutes: Nîmes - the astonishingly preserved Maison Carrée (a Roman temple). The Arena - the lanes in the centre of town with their tempting boutiques
•  30 minutes: Avignon - the papal palace, bridge, and famous theatre festival. Orange - the Roman Theatre and Triumphal Arch. Arles - beautiful small city on the banks of the Rhone with a massive Roman arena. and the haunting Alyscamps, a Roman necropolis painted by Van Gogh. Les Baux - fantastic medieval fortress built into the rock on the last outpost of the Alpilles range
•  40 minutes: Anduze, - 'Gateway to the Cévennes', the Bamboo Garden
•  45 minutes: St Remy de Provence - the asylum where Van Gogh lived for a year after cutting off half his ear Ruins of Greco-Roman town of Glanum.
• Beaches 50 minutes: La Grande Motte, Grau-du-Roi, or the vast, remote sandy beach of l'Espiguette  
• 1 hour: Montpellier - Place de la Comédie, the medieval city centre, l'Antigone Post-Modern architecture by Richard Bofill. - lovely city on a human scale 
• A recommended personal guide service is available - Florian Stoll www.ailleurs-et-uzes.fr 
Tel. : + 33 (0)6 01 75 59 28 
Skype : ailleurs-et-ici

 Travel 

* Ryanair flies to Nimes (35 minutes drive) from London (Luton), Nottingham, Liverpool and Brussels (Charleroi)

*Montpellier airport is 50 minutes by road. Marseille airport is 90 minutes drive.

* Eurostar goes to Avignon without changing on Saturdays during the summer. For dates and availability contact Eurostar direct. Or change at Lille for Avignon or Nimes. 

Parking in Uzès

Pay and display street parking, free between 19.00 and 08.00 and between 12.00 and 14.00. Free on Sundays and national holidays. Central car park, "les Cordeliers". First 90 minutes free and free between 19.00 and 08.00. Cheap rates in any case. Free parking, unmarked places, av Georges Pompidou 60 m below roundabout at the bottom of avenue de la Libération, or next to the Rugby field off the Route de Nîmes. Covered parking with CCTV at a price on Bd Charles Gides, (part of the boulevard which encircles the town centre).