Things to do near Uzès
A week in the Gard fills itself. This is the starting point: what is close, what is worth a drive, and when to go. Each topic has its own page with more detail.
Jan-Willem & Fleur
La Valette Boutique
Sanilhac-Sagriès, 30700 Gard, France
A week in the Gard fills itself. This is the starting point: what is close, what is worth a drive, and when to go. Each topic has its own page with more detail.
The main things to do near Uzès are visiting the Pont du Gard, fifteen minutes away; swimming in the Gardon river; walking or cycling through the garrigue; exploring the Saturday market on the Place aux Herbes; and visiting nearby villages such as the ceramics town of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. Uzès sits in the Gard, in Occitanie, within easy reach of Nîmes, the Gorges du Gardon and the wider region.
| Nearest UNESCO site | Pont du Gard, about 15 min from La Valette |
|---|---|
| Market days | Wednesday (organic) & Saturday (since 1241) |
| Nearest swim spot | The Gardon at the Pont du Gard, about 15 min |
| Nearest airport | Nîmes (FNI), about 35 min |
| Best season | Spring, April to June |
Plan your visit
In and around Uzès
Pont du Gard and the Gardon
Inside Uzès
Uzès rewards a slower visit. Five minutes from the house, but worth more than a passing morning.
The springs here are the reason the Romans built the aqueduct. Today the valley is a shaded walking ground at the foot of Uzès, with plane trees, poplars, water, and almost no visitors. Bring something to drink and a book. Most guests miss it.
A walled garden tucked inside a twelfth-century site, with herbs, roses, vines, and the Tour du Roi at one end. Climb the tower for the best rooftop view of Uzès. The lemongrass and liquorice tea served in season is the small reward.
One of the few former national stud farms in France still open to visitors. Around seventy stables, riding arenas, a covered ring. Open for guided visits and events through the year. Of real interest to riders, easy to skip otherwise.
Haribo was founded here. The museum traces a century of confectionery design, advertising, and process. The shop at the end is harder to leave than expected. A genuine surprise for adults travelling without children.
Uzès carries the official Ville d'Art et d'Histoire designation, with around forty buildings registered or classified as historic monuments. A walking route through the saved sector, established under the Malraux law of 1962, takes you past the Duché, the cathedral, and the medieval mansions on Rue Jacques d'Uzès.
An immersive exhibition tracing the evolution of Uzès and its built heritage, scheduled for the full 2026 season. If your stay falls within the dates, it is worth an hour of attention. Check current opening hours with the tourist office on arrival.
Within fifteen minutes
The Saturday market on the Place aux Herbes has run since 1241 and draws around two hundred exhibitors: cheese, charcuterie, olive oil, truffle in season. The calmer Wednesday morning market is producers only, roughly sixty stalls, no resellers. From July to August a Tuesday-evening night market adds around fifty more exhibitors with food and music. Our complete markets guide covers timings, what to buy and the winter truffle stalls.
Charlotte Casanas runs a ceramic atelier a few minutes from the house. Functional objects and lighting made by hand. Worth visiting even if you do not buy anything. The same restraint and attention to material that you recognise from the house itself.
The medieval centre with the Duché, the towers and the arcaded squares. Quieter than the Luberon, less polished, and more interesting for it. A morning at the market followed by an hour in the backstreets is one of the better days available.
2 Rue du 4 Septembre, Uzès
Boutique and floral studio in the old town. Dried flowers, seasonal bouquets, crowns and compositions. One of the more poetic storefronts in Uzès.
Specialist facial treatments in a calm, confidential studio in the heart of Uzès. Kobido massage, lymphatic drainage, bespoke skincare. Manual techniques, no machines, no rush.
The studio-gallery of painter David Jamin, in the heart of the historic centre near the medieval garden. His Introportrait series is the best known work. The exhibition changes constantly as new paintings move on to galleries across France and abroad. Open daily, 15h to 19h.
The Duché d'Uzès AOC, granted in 2013, and the Costières de Nîmes appellation produce serious wine at reasonable prices. Cave des Vignerons du Pont du Gard in Vers-Pont-du-Gard, a cooperative, is an easy first stop for a tasting; Domaine du Grand Chemin, a small family estate in Sanilhac-Sagriès, is minutes from the house. Our wine and vineyards guide covers the domaines we send guests to.
The garrigue plateau around the house is some of the quietest cycling terrain in the south of France. Empty roads, limestone gorges, no traffic. We have five routes described in our cycling guide, from a 10 km market run to a 65 km gorge circuit.
The Roman aqueduct is fifteen minutes from the house. Go early, before the coaches. In summer you can swim in the Gardon directly below the bridge. Our complete Pont du Gard guide covers timing, tickets, parking and swimming.
What catches people off guard
Most visitors who arrive in the Gard start where most guides start: Uzès, Pont du Gard, maybe Nîmes. That is a reasonable itinerary. What gets missed, because it requires a slightly different kind of attention, is the landscape between the destinations.
The garrigue plateau north of Sanilhac-Sagriès can be walked from the house in five minutes. No maps required, no marked trails, no admission fees. It is limestone, scrub oak, wild thyme, and silence. The Eure valley below Uzès is another version of this: most visitors walk past the entrance looking for the main event and miss the spring-fed valley that supplied the Roman aqueduct.
Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie is fifteen minutes from the house and receives a fraction of the attention of Uzès. The ceramics tradition here is medieval in origin and the village still has working ateliers, not souvenir shops. Charlotte Casanas, who made the tableware in this house, works here. An hour in Saint-Quentin before the main market, or instead of it, is time well used.
"We tell every guest the same thing: walk the garrigue track behind the house before breakfast, while the thyme is still cool, then go to the Saturday market, not for the cheese stall first but to watch who is buying from whom. That is how you learn which producers are worth coming back for."Jan-Willem & Fleur, La Valette Boutique
Worth the journey
By season
Warm days without the heat. The garrigue smells of thyme and cistus. The Saturday market is at its most varied. The Pont du Gard is quiet before the summer coaches arrive. The best cycling conditions of the year, and the Uzès Danse festival fills the Duché with contemporary dance each June.
35 degrees is normal. River swimming becomes essential rather than optional. The Festival d'Avignon runs through July, the Nuits Musicales d'Uzès in late July. In Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, fifteen minutes away, the Terralha ceramics festival, held every July, draws around twenty artists from across Europe, free entry. Book restaurants ahead. Start outdoor activities before 9h.
The grape harvest in September, truffle season from December. Fewer visitors, the same quality of light. One of the less obvious but most rewarding times to be in the countryside near Uzès. The food is at its best.
Truffle stalls join the Wednesday and Saturday markets on the Place aux Herbes from December through March, and Uzès runs a Christmas market through December, open most afternoons. The Pont du Gard, usually crowded, is nearly silent, and the light in the gorge on a clear morning is remarkable. See what's on this winter for current dates.
The top activities near Uzès include visiting the Pont du Gard (15 min), swimming in the Gardon river, cycling through the garrigue plateau, exploring the Saturday market on the Place aux Herbes, and visiting the ceramic village of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie.
Uzès is approximately 15 minutes by car from the Pont du Gard. The Roman aqueduct is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most visited monument in the Gard.
Yes. The Gardon river offers excellent swimming, particularly near the Pont du Gard and at Collias, which is the entry point to the Gorges du Gardon. The water is warm and clear in summer.
Winter near Uzès is quieter but far from empty. Truffle stalls join the Wednesday and Saturday markets from December through March, Uzès runs a Christmas market through December, and the Pont du Gard, usually crowded, is nearly silent. Lussan, half an hour north, holds its own truffle market in January. See what's on this winter for current dates.
Uzès itself is easy on foot once you arrive, but a car is the practical way to reach most of what is described on this page: the Pont du Gard, the Gorges du Gardon, the vineyards and the villages are all a short drive rather than a walk. Cycling is a pleasant alternative on quieter roads for the closer destinations.
The Nuits Musicales d'Uzès brings classical and chamber concerts to the Duché in late July. Uzès Danse, known as "La Maison danse", stages contemporary dance performances each June. In Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, ten minutes away, the Terralha ceramics festival, held every July, draws around twenty artists from across Europe, with free entry.
The Duché d'Uzès AOC, granted in 2013, covers the vineyards immediately around Uzès. Cave des Vignerons du Pont du Gard in Vers-Pont-du-Gard is a cooperative that makes an easy first stop, Domaine du Grand Chemin in Sanilhac-Sagriès is a small family estate minutes from La Valette, and Domaine Natura in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie farms biodynamically. Our wine and vineyards guide has the full list.
Yes. A dedicated truffle stall joins the regular Wednesday and Saturday markets on the Place aux Herbes roughly from December through March. Uzès also holds a separate Fête de la Truffe each January with its own programme of tastings and dinners, and Lussan, thirty minutes north, has its own January truffle market.
May and June combine warm weather with manageable crowds, a full Saturday market, good cycling conditions and the Uzès Danse festival. September is a close second: the grape harvest, truffle season approaching, and noticeably fewer visitors than July or August.
Two to three days covers the essentials comfortably: the Pont du Gard, the Saturday market, the old town, and one village or vineyard visit. A week lets you add the Gorges du Gardon, cycling routes and the villages described on this page without rushing. Our how many days guide breaks this down by trip length.
Tell us how many days you have and what you enjoy. The planner builds a plan around opening days, markets and the weather.
Two apartments in a restored stone house in the countryside south of Uzès, five minutes from Uzès. Everything on this page is a short drive from the front door. We help with timing, reservations and directions.
Enquire about your dates