Uzes

Uzes was the premier duchy of France, and the Duche, the castle of the Crussol family, still stands in the middle of town with a twelfth-century keep called the Bermonde and a Renaissance facade; the family has held it for around a thousand years. The Place aux Herbes is an arcaded square shaded by planes where a Saturday market fills the whole space. The Tour Fenestrelle beside the cathedral is a round six-storey Romanesque bell tower, unusual in France and closer to Italian campanili in form. Water from the spring at Uzes fed the Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon at the Pont du Gard.

What you actually see

• The Tour Fenestrelle - a round six-storey Romanesque campanile.
• The Duche - the ducal castle held by one family for about a millennium.
• Place aux Herbes - an arcaded plane-shaded square with a Saturday market.
• The aqueduct source - the spring that fed the Pont du Gard.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the Saturday market is the day to come, and a truffle market runs in winter. Summer is hot and busy.

Honest expectations

Saturday parking is very difficult and the market crowds the whole centre. The Tour Fenestrelle cannot normally be climbed. The town is affluent and prices reflect it.

Nearby

The Pont du Gard lies south; Nimes is southwest.