Discover Uzès

Territoire in St-Quentin-La-Poterie (2/3)

A TV visit of St Quentin La Poterie, near Uzès:

Territoire à Saint Quentin La Poterie - Partie 2... par TVSud

Territoire in St-Quentin-La-Poterie (1/3)

A TV visit of St Quentin La Poterie, near Uzès:

Territoire à Saint Quentin La Poterie - Partie 1... par TVSud

Territoire in Uzès (3/3)

In this and last instalment, a private visit of the Duché (the castle), the only artisanal coffee roaster in France and a pretty unique snail farm in Montaren.

Territoire à Uzès - Partie 3 (30/09/2011) par TVSud

Territoire in Uzès (2/3)

In this second instalment: the national stud farm, more about the history of Uzès and truffles in Uzès.

Territoire à Uzès - Partie 2 (30/09/2011) par TVSud

Territoire in Uzès (1/3)

Tv Sud is regional TV company. They have produced three episodes specifically about Uzès. All in French I'm afraid - but this way you can practice... In this first instalment: more about the history of the town and the sweet factory.

Territoire à Uzès - Partie 1 (30/09/2011) par TVSud

Discover Valence near Uzès

Valence is part of Castelnau-Valence, a 2-hamlet village (population: 261) located 18 km South West of Uzès.

Discover Saint-Just-et-Vacquières

Despite its name, Saint-Just-et-Vacquières is actually made up of three main hamlets - including Maruejols.

Less than 300 inhabitants, less than 25 minutes from Uzès. A lot of unspoiled coutryside - and wild boars!

Also, among other venues, a nice restaurant, le St Just and an award-winning guest house, Mas Vacquières.

Pictures in the video below were taken in December 2011. The gallery is here.

Help restore the castle of St-Victor-La-Coste

From Julie Mautner's blog:

Saint Victor la Coste is a picturesque village of approximately 1900 people set in a beautiful landscape between Nimes and Avignon, 25 km north-east of Uzès. At the foot of a hill dominated by a medieval castle, the village overlooks a small vineyard-covered plain. The territory has been inhabited for several millenia; neolithic and Bronze Age artifacts have been found and several known Roman sites are nearby.

Since 1969, the international volunteer program La Sabranenque has been devoted to the safeguarding and restoration of traditional rural architecture in Southern France. They're now accepting applications for summer 2012, to work on the restoration of the medieval Provencale site and village called Saint Victor la Coste. La Sabranenque hosts 150 to 200 participants of all ages and nationalities annually. No previous restoration work is required but you must be at least 18. If you're thinking of visiting Provence next year...do it this way and you'll learn new skills, give something back, leave your mark on an ancient village and meet people from all over the world.

Volunteers may sign up for various sessions in 2012, some of which include cooking and wine experiences. In the traditional program, volunteers work on the site in the morning and have afternoons free to explore and relax. Volunteers also participate in everyday, communal activities such as kitchen work. A Provencale cooking stage, which involves no stone work, is a new program this year.

The various options for 2012 are : traditional 12-day volunteer sessions (offered June 4 through Sept 22); Provencale cooking stage (with no stone work) ; volunteer and visit in Provence ; volunteer and wine exploration ; volunteer, hike and discover Provence.

For more info, visit the Sabranenque site here.

Discover the Villa St Victor

From Paris Update, October 2007, by Heidi Ellison

The Villa Saint Victor, a hilltop château-hotel in Provence, is not the ancestral residence of Renaud and Stéphane Vieljeux’s family, but the two brothers, together with Stéphane’s wife, Marie-Aude, have turned it into what feels like a real home.

Located in the village of Saint-Victor-des-Oules, a short drive from Uzès, one of Provence’s most beautiful cities, the 18th-century château had already served as a bed and breakfast before the brothers bought it in 2004, but it needed serious refreshing. Within just a few months, the Vieljeux, with the help of family and friends, redecorated it from top to bottom in the elegant style of the best French stately homes, bringing in great quantities of the family’s antiques and paintings. Now each of the 18 bedrooms, all of them named after a family member, is decorated in a completely different style, some more masculine and others more feminine, with handsome fabrics, antique furnishings, paintings and etchings.

While Renaud already had experience in the business, having owned a bed and breakfast on the other side of Uzès, Stéphane, who had been working as a banker in Geneva, made a total change of lifestyle, seeing the hotel as a chance to realize his dream of learning to cook. He and Marie-Aude moved their six children to Uzès, and while Stéphane cooks dinner for guests on most evenings and the traditional lunch on Sunday, with mostly fine results, Renaud and Marie-Aude run the hotel.

Together, they have mastered the art of making people feel at home without intruding on their privacy, a delicate balance that is hard to achieve (ever been to one of those bed and breakfasts where you are expected to have a drink or even dine with the owners and/or the other guests – an experience that can range from highly charming to deadly boring?). The comfy, handsomely decorated common rooms on the ground floor, for example, offer a variety of different-sized spaces and nooks where guests can choose to mingle or find a private corner to chat or have a drink.

Adding to the feeling of a family home are the presence of two dogs, the gregarious and affectionate Octave, a white Lab I defy anyone not to fall in love with, and the more aloof and aristocratic Titus, a dachshund.

Aside from the 16 rooms in the château, the hotel has two small houses suitable for families on the grounds of its small park (whose non-native palm trees add an exotic touch) and a wheelchair-accessible room with a separate entrance. Their decor is not as grand as the rooms in the château, but even the latter are works in progress. The bathrooms, while perfectly functional and fitted with large bathtubs, are not up to the high standards of the rooms, and some details still await attention – a lamp’s electrical wires running across a tabletop, for example, or bolts sticking out of the wall in one of the WCs. These little imperfections may add to the feeling of being at home, but they should be taken care of in a hotel.

The Villa Saint Victor can accommodate groups, seminars, parties and events. A tent-like structure in the garden can hold up to 100 people. Renaud can also organize themed excursions – focusing on food, tourism or music, for example – according to guests’ interests. A swimming pool on the grounds is welcome in the hot Provençal summers, and tennis courts are available in the village.

Villa Saint Victor: Place du Château, 30700 Saint Victor des Oules. Tel.: 04 66 81 90 47. Rates: €70-€230 per night. Closed in January and February.

Pougnadoresse: the castle is a thousand years old

The feudal castle is nearly 1000 years old. It is located on a rocky ridge, oriented east-west. Its walls, sitting mostly on schist rocks are of unusual strength. They are often built of hard stone carved in relief with a hammer. Their thickness may reach two meters. Most of the many underground tunnels out in the village are now walled up to prevent accidents, but they are still visible.

Pougnadoresse is very rich in history, with its older tower dating from the Carolingian period (year 1000) and its double wall from the twelfth century. The tower to the south, so-called "big tower", houses a wide and deep ice storage which was already mentioned in a charter of King Louis the Younger, who in 1156 gave the castle and its dependencies to the Church of Uzès and its bishops.

The castle has been in the Sorbier de Pougnadoresse family for 450 years – but it changed hands several times earlier. In 1156, it is the property of the Bishops of Uzès. In 1332 and again in 1449, it passed into the hands of the Viscount of Uzès. Honorat Le Chantre, the ancestor of Gerard de Pougnadoresse, the current owner, officially became owner in 1562. "My great great grandfather was involved in the War of Independence of the United States along with La Fayette, says Gerard de Pougnadoresse, which entitles me today to be a member of the Society of Cincinnati, which includes all the descendants of the officers who fought in America."

Peace has not always reigned at Pougnadoresse. In 1645 the castle was besieged by Gondina-Servezanne – the own brother of the owner at the time, who was killed during the assault of the night. Fourteen years later, his two sons led a punitive expedition, and killed in turn Gondina-Servezanne. This earned them a death sentence ; they took refuge in Avignon where they were made prisoners but were able to plead their case to King Louis XIV – who pardoned them in the end.

The family history is intertwined with the history of France, as the castle suffered particularly during the Revolution in 1790, when it was burnt down despite the mobilization of the villagers who are on the frontlines to defend its owners. In 1793 again, the west wing was burned, the drawbridge and turrets were completely destroyed.

The family

The current family took over the castle in 1974. "I was just 15 when my uncle, former owner with no children, asked me if I wanted to keep the castle,” said Gérard de Sorbier de Pougnadoresse, current owner. “I accepted even though I knew very little about the place, but the village is the birthplace of our family. For many years, Pougnadoresse was our vacation home, we have undertaken major work, and we finally moved there gradually between 1988 and 1990 at the age of retirement”.

And the line does not seem ready to go out because they themselves have a son who has two sons. "However, our name has almost disappeared since my great great grandparents died very young with an only son a year and my grandfather was also an only son."

Gérard de Sorbier de Pougnadoresse and his wife gladly open their gardens to visitors, especially during tours of the village or at the request during the Heritage Day (Journée du Patrimoine).