Uzès,
a few kilometres distant from Nîmes and Avignon, is a special
place that has a conservation quarter with an unusually rich heritage
created on the initiative of André Malraux in 1964. Today,
Uzès is a holiday destination much sought after by a top
of the range French and international clientele.
According
to the court's rules of precedence, established by king Charles
IX, Uzès is the "First
Duchy of France". This prestigious title enabled the
town to erect many lay and religious monuments. Built around a duke's
castle, a Fenestrelle tower,
a baroque church and a harmonious medieval
herb garden, Uzès
is recognised for the quality of its buildings.
The town is also dominated by 3
feudal towers dating from the 12th century: the tour
du Duc (Duke's Tower), the most imposing that formerly belonged
to the Bishop, the tour du Roi (King's tower),
the smallest with very high machicolation, and the tour
Saint-Étienne built up against the church.
Uzès
benefits from the motorway infrastructures connecting the economic
centres of Avignon, Nîmes and Montpellier. It is also serve
by two very nearby TGV stations (Paris in 2 hours 37 minutes) and
three airports. The region's dominant activities are tourism, agriculture
and industry, which profit from this European accessibility aspect.
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