Carnet de Voyage: the Choucas of Uzès 

Travel notes from the real France. Carnet de Voyage is a weekly personal travel story in France sent in by readers. If you’d like to write a story for Carnet de Voyage, head here for details on how to submit. 

Uzès was not on the itinerary at first. It was an afterthought, really. This would be our longest stay in France and as the trip grew in size we knew that we would need to find a spot where we could just take it easy and move about only if we felt like it. Uzès was to be that relaxing interval. We booked two weeks there between busy Bourgogne and hectic Paris. It had been described to us as a slow-paced, ancient city perfectly located for leisurely exploring the beautiful Languedoc-Roussillon region and nearby Ardèche. Excursions to bucket-list attractions, like Camargue with its flamingoes, herds of white horses  and pink salt flats; Les-Baux-de-Provence’s Carrières des Lumières nestled into an old, hilltop limestone quarry;  the amazing natural stone arch, Pont d’Arc, the ancient Roman aqueduct, Pont du Gard and the fabled wine city of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in Provence were  each only about 60 minutes away. It was exhilarating to have an itinerary with mostly blank spots for the two weeks we would be there. We were determined to catch our breaths and if we wanted to go to one of these attractions we would and if not… oh, well. 

Our first glimpse of Uzès was the wide expanse of the Place aux Herbes, the hub of the village. It was enchanting. Old two- and three-story buildings ringed the expansive open area. Street level shops and bistros filled the Place aux Herbes with color, activity and smells. The gurgling of a big fountain, running day and night, would be the perfect backdrop for sitting with our latest read and a glass of the local wine – or just the wine and good company.  

Late afternoon on our first day we looked out over the plane trees and automobiles that lined Boulevard Gambetta beneath our apartment balcony and decided it was time for a little French cocktail hour in Place aux Herbes. Our destination was Les Terroirs, a cute little bistro with outdoor seating spread deep into the plaza. We had spied it on our self-guided walkabout that morning. We sat down and ordered small individual quiches and deux verres of the local rosé. As we lifted our glasses to toast our good fortune the sky literally began to scream. Hundreds and hundreds of black birds had descended on Uzès and were making the most God-awful racket. Krak-krak-krak-krak! It was constant and we needed to raise our voices one notch to be heard over the din. It was fascinating to watch. When a young waitress passed by Nancy asked, “Qu’est-ce que c’est?” “Choucas”, she said and wrinkled up her face and continued on. What we pieced together over the next half hour was that “choucas”, European Jackdaws, a crow-like bird about 12 inches long, were perennial visitors and considered a nuisance by everyone in town because of the noise and the mess they made. As we stared heavenward, we saw that they were not the only birds putting on a show for us. A huge dark cloud of sparrows was quickly moving its massive grey blob in and out of the flock of choucas. Were they playing territorial games or completely oblivious of the other’s presence? We just watched and wondered. 

We finished our wine and walked back to our apartment, past the cookie shop, the boucherie, the wine purveyor and the funny little shop that only sold glazed ceramic pintads (guinea hens) and as we crossed Boulevard Gambetta we were greeted by a choucas serenade. The birds were now roosting in the plane trees on both sides of the avenue. Once upstairs we could block out some of the noise by closing the windows but the gregarious vocalization of the birds continued late into the night. The same krak-krak-krak-krak that we heard going to bed greeted us as we woke up. The birds were getting ready to take flight and they were announcing their intentions to everyone in Uzès. As our Nespresso machine spit out our morning brew we heard another sound; the roar of large trucks moving slowly down the Boulevard. We watched as first a tanker truck with two workers trailing behind used high pressure hoses washed the roadway and sidewalks clean of the mess made by the choucas and then came a street sweeper vacuuming up the water. When they finished, Boulevard Gambetta was shiny and new again – not so much the roofs of the cars parked under the trees. This evening and morning routine played out in exactly the same way for the fourteen days we spent in Uzès. We could understand how the residents of this little village and the surrounding communities would be rankled by these discordant visitors. 

For us, Uzès was so much more than flocks of noisy, messy birds. Serendipitously, one Sunday we walked out and found knights in full regalia with flags and lances on high stepping horses prancing down the street. Soon kings and princesses, monks and warriors, pages, wizards and merrymakers of all kinds were in a parade of historic figures that snaked around the town’s exterior roads to an authentic medieval village on a hill. There, “villagers” were cooking on open fires, holding birds of prey on their wrists, demonstrating proper sword and mace etiquette, making deerskin shirts and teaching anyone within earshot what living in the 1200s was like. Every server and shopkeeper in town got into the act by bedecking themselves in period appropriate attire. So much fun and so unexpected! We discovered that excitement and parades were regularly a part of the Uzès spectacle. A bright and joyful Christmas parade makes its appearance every December and in August there is the “Running of the Bulls” with expert horse riders creating a heart pounding scene of chase and catch. 

In our estimation, Uzès has absolutely the best Market Day of any place in France – and that includes the truly wonderful Beaune Market Day. Local fare rules the day. A farmer from nearby had sheep and goat’s milk yogurt on display with every small glass container a different size and shape. The residents knew to save him the expense of new jars by returning clean ones, purchased the week before, into a large basket at the end of the table. Meat, cheese, wine, candy, fruits and vegetables were out in colorful displays, all labeled “Produit de France”. Children and dogs played in the fountain. This was Place aux Herbes at its best. We never wanted to leave. Alas, vacations always come to an end and we sadly left Uzès vowing to return. On the drive to our next destination we agreed – Christmas 2026 in Uzès! 

Read our other Carnet de Voyage entries here. 

Michael Harrelson and his wife, two retired orthophonistes, travel from San Diego, CA to France every year to explore as many new parts of France as time will allow. 

Lead photo credit : Choucas preparing to roost © Michael Harrelson