To Uzès or not to Uzès?
 

Hallo All,

(This is a long request, but I hoped to address any questions you might have.)

I'm thinking of doing a trip to Provence & Dordogne in the Spring 2023. I had this trip planned for Spring 2020, but of course that didn't happen. I was travelling with friends, and we were going to do 5 nights in Uzès and 9 nights in Sarlat in May. Those friends did this trip in 2021; they only spent a day in Uzès, and it wasn't a favorite of their trip.

When I began thinking about this trip again, I didn't include Uzès because of what my friends said. But now I'm thinking of putting it back in, but just for 1 night. I'd like to get opinions on that... cut Uzès, keep Uzès, stay longer in Uzès? Cut St Émilion & Aubeterre-sur-Dronne?

Just a note -- I don't have any interest in excursions from Uzès to the Pont du Gard, Nîmes, or Orange for this trip; if I go, I would only want to soak up the feel of the town and wander its streets and take photos. Also, I spent about 5 nights in Arles in 2011, and though I enjoyed it, I don't have a burning desire to see it again.

I'm considering doing the trip either way -- starting in Provence and ending in Dordogne, or the reverse. If you have an opinion on that, too, I'd love to hear.

I'd be going in April or early May 2023.

So this is what I was thinking for 15 nights:

Day 1, Get to Munich airport from Garmisch, fly MUC to Marseilles, overnight
Day 2, Rent car, drive to St Remy, 1h, stay x5 nights
Day 3, St Remy -- Van Gogh asylum & Glaunum
Day 4, St Remy -- Vaison-le-Romaine
Day 5, St Remy -- Salon de Provence
Day 6, St Remy -- Gordes & Bories
Day 7, Drive to Uzes, 1h, see the town, overnight
Day 8, Drive to St Cirq, 5h, see the town, stay x2 nights
Day 9, St Cirq
Day 10, Drive to Rocamadour, 1h, see the town, have lunch, then drive to Sarlat, 1h, stay x4
nights
Day 11, Sarlat -- Ophorus shared tour to Domme & Beynac
Day 12, Sarlat -- Ophorus shared tour to caves
Day 13, Sarlat -- open
Day 14, Drive to Auberterre-sur-Dronne, 2h, see the town, see the monolithic church & Eglise
St-Jacques, have lunch, stroll more, then drive to St Émilion, 1h, overnight
Day 15, St Émilion -- see the town & monolithic church, have lunch, stroll more, then drive to
Bordeaux Airport, 1h30, turn in car, overnight
Day 16, Fly to MUC early morning

Or would the reverse be a better trip?

Day 1, Get to Munich airport, fly MUC to Bordeaux, overnight
Day 2, Rent car, drive to St Émilion, 1h30, stay 2 nights
Day 3, St Émilion -- see the town & monolithic church
Day 4, Drive to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, 1h, see the monolithic church & Eglise St Jacques,
have lunch, then drive to Sarlat, 2h, stay x 4 nights
Day 5, Sarlat -- Ophorus shared tour to Domme & Beynac
Day 6, Sarlat -- Ophorus shared tour to caves
Day 7, Sarlat -- open
Day 8, Drive to Rocamadour, 1h, see the town, then drive to St Cirq, 1h, stay x 2 nights
Day 9,St Cirq
Day 10, Drive to Uzès, 5h, see the town, overnight
Day 11, See Uzès in the morning, have lunch, then drive to St Remy, 1h, stay x4 nights
Day 12, St Remy -- Van Gogh asylum & Glaunum
Day 13, St Remy -- Vaison-le-Romaine
Day 14, St Remy -- Gordes & Bories
Day 15, Drive to Salon-de-Provence, 40 minutes, stroll around, have lunch, stroll more, then
drive to Marseilles airport, 40 minutes, turn in car, overnight
Day 16, Fly to MUC early morning

So, I'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas -- about Uzès and/or the whole trip.

Oh, and also, I have downloaded Stu's itineraries for Provence and Dordogne -- thanks for that, Stu!

Danke!

Well, I do not think I clicked on "Trip Report," and I could not find any way to tag for countries. Oh sigh. Moderators, could you please remove the TR label and add a tag for France?

So sorry!

s

St Cirq la Popie does not deserve more than a couple of hours, especially after visiting similar towns in the Dordogne if starting your trip in Bordeaux. I would stay in Cahors whose Hôtel Terminus has a voluminous list of Cahors wines. The bridge and the cathedral are worth visiting:

https://flic.kr/p/7Udzii https://flic.kr/p/cMv5Es

Thank you, thank you, moderators!!

Michael, thank you for your input! Cahors does look interesting, and switching from St Cirq to Cahors is something I can do when I am making firm plans.

s

I stayed in Uzes several days once, but partly that was to use it as a base for other excursions. It is a small town, you know, you don't need days to explore it. One day is fine. If you are driving from St Remy, you'll have most of the day there. It's only about an hour from St Remy, after all. So either of your itineraries would work, but on the second one, I don't see any reason you have to rush to St Remy that day given how close it is, you could spend that whole day mostly in Uzes, not just in the morning. If you arrive the day before late, you'll probably get an idea of what you want to do, play it by ear. You can see online what there is to do/see in Uzes. Main siite is that Duche d'Uzes, as I recall. I think I was there for a market day, also, but those are everywhere and the Duche is probably the only "tourist sight" I visited. It was a pleasant enough place to stay as a base, though, as it is very small and it was easy to walk around at night and find an outdoor restaurant, etc.

I'm not so enamored of St Remy myself, although I guess you are using it as a base and only plan about one day for St Remy sights, which seems fine. It is a better location for sightseeing in the Luberon, etc, than Uzes.

When I was there, there weren't a lot of great hotels in Uzes, I did stay in one but there weren't hardly any that were actually in Uzes proper at the ring road or interior (still aren't). I had a car so never would have wanted to be farther inside the ring road. anyway.

I stayed in this Hotel.
https://www.hotel-entraigues.com/en

Their parking garage was a bit dicey, but do-able. I mean spaces were very small so it was hard to get in/out (and I had a small car). It was a good location though being right on the ring road and as I said, I did just walk to places within Uzes. That was some years ago, the hotel said it had A/C but did not, at least not my room. It was very very hot (in summer) and the room was ok but certainly not deluxe. It was in the building across from the main one, though. From their website, I can't figure out how that relates to their current situation, maybe they don't even own that other building any more. I know they had more than four parking spaces as their website now says, and I parked in a garage, not on the street. A very small one across the pedestrian street next to them.

well, you didn't ask for hotel advice, maybe you had the idea of some place more outside Uzes where I think parking might be easier, or some other hotel.

Did you visit Aix on your 2011 trip?

Uzes was one of my must see places. However it may have a different vibe in May than September when we visited. A couple of hours is ample. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Thank you so much, Christina! That is useful info! I was thinking of trying for Hotel Les Terrasses, which has parking by the outskirts, I guess, then a short walk to the hotel. That doesn't bother me. Yes, I *hate* small parking spaces in Europe, but have learned to live with them. I have gotten into some spots that absolutely surprised me!

Sassafras, no I didn't visit Aix-en-Provence on my previous trip. I've seen some photos of it, and it looks pretty, but I think it's too large for me to really enjoy. Thanks for your input!

Thanks cheska15! I appreciate that info..... I am feeling pretty good, then, about spending just 1 night.

s

Two small sites near Salon were among my favorite stops - Les Grottes de Cales, 7th Century BC Ligurian grottoes near the village of Lamanon, and the ruins of Vieux Vernegues. There are so many small interesting spots to visit throughout the region.

Yes! That's the problem, shelemm! I would also love to spend time in Conques and in Figeac. And..and...and.... I'll just have to live with these choices, or else break this into two separate trips.

Thanks for the input!

s

Tarascon is between Saint Rémy and Uzès, worth a couple of hours for its castle with prisoner art and its arcaded streets:

https://flic.kr/p/og8JKN https://flic.kr/p/og9f84

We have stayed in Uzès twice now, once at the Entraigues, and I would agree with Christina's assessment. We were also there in the summer and our room didn't have AC, but it has a pool which is nice. I am also not particularly a fan of St. Remy, but in general I much prefer the Gard to Provence-less expensive, less tourists in general and I like the areas around to visit better. The second time we stayed at this hotel called La Taverne de Sophie. It is more budget friendly and still really well located.
A TAVERNE DE SOPHIE | Hôtel à Uzès

There is an underground city parking lot right near both of those hotels and I think I remember we got a discount through the hotel La Taverne-it wasn't very expensive and well worth having for the 2-3 nights we spent there. You may already know that Uzès has a Saturday market that is very nice and well attended so you might look at whether you want to visit during that time or not.

Another place I feel is worth a visit in the area is L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. It is a lovely village with waterwheels on the Sorgue river. It is also well known for antique shopping and its market.

We also had a lovely meal about 25 minutes outside of Uzès in Castillon-du-Gard at a restaurant called L'Amphitryon. I would highly recommend it. The owner also has a another place in the same village more "grill-focused" called Les Jarres

https://restaurant-lamphitryon.ovh/

Oh and I meant to add that I think in April, May you might be better to do the trip as you you show it starting in Provence and ending in Bordeaux area since I think you are more likely to get nicer spring weather in the Dordogne later rather than earlier. We took a trip in the at area in mid-April and it poured most the week. And Provence is likely to get hotter later in the trip as well so starting there might be an advantage there as well if you don['t want too much heat. But to be honest, that time of year can be somewhat unpredictable-especially in there days of climate quirkiness!

Yo Swan, I am just now working on some Uzes imagery, in prep for posting our next TR-Photo essay. Doing this kind of task has put me back in a kind of 'Uzes frame of mind'. We absolutely loved it for its vibe (that phrase). Great place for those not obsse interested in box-ticking and more interested in an authentic, relaxed slice of France.

Note that being there for either of the excellent weekly markets would of course make a difference. The vendors were 90% different in the lesser or smaller one. Being there for any of Uzes' seasonal 'Braderie de la Poterie' markets would also be a plus--even for those not planning to buy any pottery. Bien sur, those events ramp up the local culture atmosphere.
The fall seems a good time to visit coz all of the above occur then, as well as Cathedral organ concerts on one of France's oldest such instruments. In addition, there's some sort of fall fest (medieval? dogs? medieval dogs?) down in the valley below i.e. the source the Romans used for Pont du Gard. We left Uzes the day prior to commencement of the latter.

Got an absolutely killer rental suggestion, if interested. In our opinion, Uzes works well as a stay extended beyond just an overnight.
Hope all goes well. Bon Chance Swan!

I am done. the swans that took my Nikon hostage

Zebec-I would love more info on a rental as friends are going to visiting later this year.

Yo Jpie,
Below is an excerpt from our earlier 'Provencal Echo' TR, which included a bit of the Gard area with Uzes. This clip contains a description of that Uzes rental. We miss it. Sigh...

'Uzes:
This Taschen-like home-away-from-home was the biggest splurge that we have ever dished-out for on any of our travels. And it was worth every penny, a Gard vacation in itself. It was a tastefully-restored historical building, a former mayor’s home with Roman roots and with an 'ancient Greek fountain' right outside the front door. It had a gigantic upper terrace. Although located on a pedestrian lane, there was nothing pedestrian about the 2-level flat. Maison Theodorit had everything that current-day self-caterers might need, yet still retained plenty of authentic old charm. The (locked) wine cellar was once part of a tunnel system used by maquis to foil the occupying Nazis. The master shower was custom-made and a real treat. Excellent furniture. Most detailed House Book ever. Although available in 2 different halves/apartments, we recommend going for the entire unit as one.

Stay here if: you want modern comforts in an agreeable historic building next to church bells.'

*Note that the aforementioned swans down in the valley are union swans and they will not tolerate any talk of non-union birdlife.
I am done. the end

Visit to the Medieval Garden in Uzes is nice - a couple of towers to climb and lots of interesting plants to view. Le Jardin Médiéval d' Uzès | Accueil

The Uzes Saturday market is also worthy of a visit if your plans allow.

Lussan is a nice town to visit while it the area as well. Le Bistro de Lussan does a lovely lunch in their outdoor courtyard (make reservations). You can drive up to the restaurant and park nearby - no need to walk up from the hill below.

Drive a little further and you can enjoy some cave exploring.

I mentioned Aix because you listed overnights in Marseilles. The airport servicing Marseilles is about 20-25 minutes away. The same airport services Aix which is about 25-30 minutes. Marseilles center is much, much bigger and busier than Aix center which is actually quite small. You can walk from one end to the other of the city center in a few minutes. It is all old buildings, cafes, fountains, etc. straight out of an impressionist painting, seems more like a large village and very quiet and peaceful at night. We walked at night in Aix, would be more careful at night in Marseilles. I would do the overnight in Aix rather than Marseilles, although the harbor in Marseilles is very pretty.

Uzes is my favorite small town in France, and, IMO, a great place to base for exploring the area. I spent a week there once in May and a week in October another year.

Hallo All, and Happy Easter!

Michael, thank you for your further suggestions!

jpie, thank you for these suggestions! I will make a note of that hotel and keep it in mind when I'm ready for the real planning. I haven't yet made concrete plans, but I will definitely try to be in Uzès on a Saturday -- that sounds like a good market to visit. I have heard of L' Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and seen photos, but unfortunately I don't think I have time for it on this visit. And thanks for the additional restaurant recommendation! Oh, yes, that old "move north as the weather warms up" consideration. I get that. But it really seems that the departure logistics will be easier for Marseilles than for Bordeaux. It's something I'll have to think about in detail and long and hard when it's time to make reservations.

Zebec!! Thank you for posting! I was hoping to hear from people who love Uzès, rather than just people who were lukewarm about it. Yes, as jpie says, I will try to get there for a market, but the smaller one would be more my style. Unfortunately, I cannot do this trip in the fall, as my fall travel is always to Paris or to Montreux (CH), alternating years. This year I will be in Paris in the spring, though, as I have a deadline to use or lose a lodging credit. So it's gonna have to be a spring trip... I love your riff on my screen name. But actually it derives from my middle name (wanda) plus my first & last initials. Merci "Z"!! And also thank you for the lodging recommendation! It will be on the list when the time comes to reserve. My #1 priority, though, is views. Not necessarily views OF anything specific, just some wide open space and air outside the window. I am not happy in a place, no matter how sweet, if the windows look at a brick (even pretty, aged brick) wall.

4totravel, thank you for the suggestions on things to do! And thanks for the suggestion on Lussan.

Sassafrass, wow, that is so very kind of you to think of a good alternative for my departure and to explain your earlier recommendation. I appreciate it VERY much! However, I really don't plan to be in Marseilles.... I plan to drive to the airport, drop off the car, and walk/shuttle to a nearby hotel. So there won't be any last-minute sight-seeing or ambiance-seeking, unfortunately.

grandmere, thank you for your comments! I'm happy to hear from folks who love Uzès! It's gonna make it a very tough decision!

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and suggestions, especially when I thought things would be so quiet over a holiday weekend. I do hope everyone had a nice Easter. We had an outdoor sunrise service in Garmisch, and it was about 2 C (about 35 F). Brrr. Forgive my photo, utterly unrelated to this post....

thanks again, all

s



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