Top
France

Pont du Gard

France, Occitanie

I’ve organized my website notes around the Pont du Gard – the logical, if not natural, route of the remarkable aqueduct from Uzés to Nimes, following the path of least resistance downhill – with a few bonus sites from the Gard region in the near vicinity. If you haven’t reflected on the remarkable engineering involved in this aqueduct, do read the wikipedia page.

We’ve experienced this area by car over several trips – it would be a fun, compact region to explore on bike as well, with very good biking infrastructure in the area.

Lussan

On our way to Uzés, we stopped at the pretty Lussan – a “Plus Beaux Village de France.” Sitting on a hilltop with great views of the surroundings, it’s not a major destination, but would be a pretty, quiet place to stay with easy access to sites in the Gard and the Ardéche. We liked the look of La Fontasse de Lussan and Les Buis de Lussan.

Uzès

We covered Uzès over the course of two partial days, mostly following the recommended walking tour (map available at the TI). One full day would have been plenty – it’s not particularly large, and the sites to see are fairly limited. An overnight trip didn’t seem particularly necessary, and the town doesn’t feel as “living” and vibrant as other nearby places, like Arles.  It’s very pretty though – a real mess of architectural styles, but using (and reusing) the same types of stones, largely resulting in a harmonious outcome. I appreciated the view from the towers (in the Jardin Medieval)  to get a real perspective on the many, many eras of building.

In town:

  • On the cultural side, we enjoyed a guided visit (a fairly expensive one) to **Uzès Castle – home of the Duke of Uzès. You don’t see a lot and getting an English tour would take a lot of planning, but still given that, it’s surprisingly real – a house they use today. We were hustled back into a room by the maids when the family passed through. It was remodeled in recent decades, with very good taste.
  • **Jardin Médiéval d’Uzès et ses Tours was a better stop than expected. The gardens are small but intentional, and you can climb to the top of one tour for great views, and another to see a good graffiti collection from the 1600s. Worthwhile.
  • The *Musée Georges Borias, the temporary exhibit area adjacent, and the adjoining Cathedral were all not necessary – not bad, but not particularly notable. Perhaps worth a visit if you like what’s on in the temporary show (we saw boat paintings, which we did like).
  • We had a very good lunch on the main square (Place aux Herbes) at **La Famille. It was “a little bit hippy” in the menu offerings, but very tasty. I had an excellent Asian tofu salad.

Outside of town, heading towards Pont-du-Gard, we visited the *Haribo Candy Museum. I’ve wanted to go here for awhile, and honestly, it wasn’t worth the time. Very minimal, for small children (and not really that interesting for kids either, in my opinion).

Castillon-du-Gard

Castillon-du-Gard is near the midway point of the aqueduct, on a hill (very near the Pont-du-Gard). It’s fairly quiet, and doesn’t feel like a town with much local action. We stayed at *HOTEL LE VIEUX CASTILLON, which looks fabulous in pictures, and is a little bit less fabulous in real life. The pool is very pretty, and there are decent common spaces throughout the distributed property.  The guests were largely foreigners, a lot of kids. The bedrooms are very small, very small windows, and an odd collection of furnishings. It wasn’t terrible, but for the price I’d find somewhere else to stay.

Dinner, at the hotel (*Azur) was a bit odd. Not bad exactly, but the menu doesn’t really work and the service is spotty. Small plates, that aren’t small plates, and are not really suited for sharing.

The one exception to this town was dinner at ***L’Amphitryon – wonderful! One of the better meals I’ve had, served with style and good cheer. It’s a very local place – everyone seemed to know each other, formal without being fussy, and very much worth going out of your way to experience. Note it was a hard reservation to get – by phone only, at specific times that are hard to figure out.

Pont du Gard

The **Pont du Gard is the major element of a 50 km aqueduct built in the middle of the 1st century to supply the city of Nîmes. You’ll recognize pictures – it’s one of the more notable Roman sites in France, a three-story aqueduct bridge rising to nearly 50 meters, considered “one of the most representative works of the construction processes of the Roman imperial era.”

It’s very easy to get here from Nîmes, Avignon, or Arles, and it’s worth a trip, particularly in the summer. Bring a suit and join the crowds to swim in the shallow river, appreciating that you’re participating in a 2000-year-old summer pastime.

Nîmes

Nîmes is great! Put it on your list. It’s easy to navigate, has tons of Roman architecture, happy cheerful people, and great food. We arrived during the Feria, which was really fun and typically occurs during September and May. 24 hour party!

The Colosseum dates to the end of the first century A.D., when Emperor Augustus named this Celtic settlement on the road linking Italy to Spain a Roman colony. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Nîmes was a major textile producer — the word “denim” derives from “de Nîmes.”

Visitors come to Nîmes for its unusually well-preserved monuments. It’s one of those French cities that is still very vibrant, and fairly affordable – you see it in the volume of up-and-coming chefs and restaurants, and the crowded, cheerful streets. 

Sites/Lodging:

  • We ate at **SKAB in Nimes, 7 rue de la république, which was wonderful. Creative and delicious food, nice hidden outdoor patio behind the building.
  • We stayed at ***Bien Loin d’Ici, 386 Traverse d’Engance, Nimes (bienloindici.com). It was wonderful! Very modern/chic, in the country but within 4 miles of the city. Our room had a sauna and a spa. There’s an infinity pool, lots of privacy, great breakfast. Kids not allowed. 
  • **Musée de la Romanité was small but interesting (a newer museum in a well-designed modern structure). Not the best Roman museum I’ve seen, but it’s thoughtful and has some nice pieces. 

Articles:

Beaucaire

South of Nîmes, we stopped at the **Abbaye de Saint-Roman, which majorly exceeded expectations: a cave monastery. The story of the site is complex (built over many times, destroyed many times), but the original structures on display showcase a monastery dug into a hill from the 10th century). It’s very worth it (including the 10 minute uphill climb to the site, and moving to experience the scale and care that went into the construction.

0

post a comment