What if your next work base was a sun-drenched home in medieval southern France — rent-free, with a pool, fast Wi-Fi, and two cats for company? That’s exactly what I found when I became a housesitter for a month in Uzès — and it changed how I think about working and travelling.

 

 

Our cat charges Thomas and Timon, resting at home

 

One of the best things I have done in years was to take a month out of my normal life and travel to Uzès to look after someone else’s two cats in their home. Yes indeed, I became a catsitter to travel on a fixed budget.

 

What’s so good about that, you may well ask?

 

 

The Difference a Housesit Makes

 

The beauty of housesitting meant that I could work every morning. In fact, my early morning schedule meant that by early afternoon I was ready for an adventure somewhere new.

 

Our homeowners were retired professionals and had ensured a strong Wi-Fi connection when they had moved to this house. So, communications were great, for a large portion of my professional pastimes: emails, Zoom and even web construction! And then each day we planned a new trip to explore our exciting if temporary home, as an exercise to learn the language and enjoy our new environment.

And most importantly, there were no accommodation costs, because we exchanged our time in home and pet care for free board.

Platforms like Housesitmatch.com make finding exactly this kind of arrangement straightforward — you apply, the homeowner invites you, and the swap is made.

 

 

My office by the pool – beats co-working

 

 

Our Housesit for the Month

Where were we? Uzès. We were staying in the Gard region of southern France. Uzès, is an extraordinary town — a small city, in fact — crowned by its medieval cathedral. The beautiful Cathédrale Saint-Théodorit d’Uzès, built around the time of the First Crusade, watches over a maze of traditional streets that spiral inward like the shell of an escargot, leading to the central square: Place aux Herbes. This is where the famous weekly farmers’ market takes place and where many of the town’s social events unfold.

 

 

Cathedral Saint Theodorit d’Uzes, built at the time of the first crusade

 

Staying for several weeks meant we could wander the medieval streets at our leisure, day after day, slowly building an appreciation for this remarkable place. The location also made it easy to explore some of the region’s spectacular Roman monuments — the Pont du Gard, the theatre in Orange, and Les Arènes in the city of Nîmes — all within a short drive. It proved to be one of our most enjoyable holidays.

 

 

Unhurried Routines

 

Each morning, I would rise early to feed the cats, let them out, check the pool pump was running, and then begin planning the day’s adventures. We soon found ourselves letting the cats’ routines — and the vibrant local markets — shape our weekly schedule. Then after making coffee I would set about my work, while David trotted off to try a new boulangerie.  Savouring France by living like locals, stepping away from a hectic work schedule, and simply having the time to wander proved far easier — and far more rewarding — than we had imagined.

Uzès Saturday Market

 

 

David had to sample the local fare. Uzès is famous for truffles

 

One of the great pleasures of staying in Uzès was the Saturday market, held largely in Place aux Herbes at the heart of the old town.

The sights, smells, and vibrant atmosphere are wonderfully stimulating. Farmers and merchants sell everything from seasonal vegetables, herbs, and spices to pâtisseries and local dairy products. Everything looked — and smelled — irresistible, and we rarely left without armfuls of delicious food and the occasional artisan treasure.

 

Uzès is also famous for its truffle markets and exceptional regional produce. Needless to say, we sampled plenty: fresh truffles, truffle cheeses, truffle oils — in fact, almost anything infused with truffle found its way onto our table. David, it must be said, couldn’t resist buying the real thing — a whole truffle, carried home with considerable pride.

 

 

A Long Held Dream to Revisit the Gard

A short visit to Nîmes as an exchange student in my teenage years had planted a seed long ago. Ever since, I had wanted to return and explore this fascinating part of France more deeply — and when the opportunity finally came, it arrived in an unexpected form.

When I found a catsit near Uzès through Housesitmatch.com, I applied — and when the time came, we moved in at the owners’ invitation. It opened the door to a region I had been dreaming about for decades.

 

The Pont du Gard

 

Spectacular and still remarkably robust at 2000 years old

 

One of the region’s most spectacular landmarks is the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct that has stood for nearly 2,000 years. Built to carry water from springs near Uzès across roughly 50 kilometres of channels to supply the Roman city of Nîmes, it remains one of the most impressive examples of Roman engineering anywhere in the world.

When I first visited as a student, my friends and I would scramble up to the top level and dangle our legs over the edge — something unimaginable today. At the time, people and even vehicles were allowed on the bridge. That only changed in 1985, when the monument was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

 

Sommières- A Town Built Around a Bridge

 

 

 

Pont Tibère is a rare site, an ancient bridge still in use and inhabited

Staying in the Gard gave us the time to discover just how extraordinary some of its Roman legacy truly is — and nowhere made that clearer than the town of Sommières.

I had wanted to visit partly because one of my literary heroes Lawrence Durrell, the novelist and poet best known for The Alexandria Quartet, had settled there after the Second World War. And indeed, we found a Salle Communal dedicated to him in the heart of the town — a quiet tribute to a writer who clearly fell as deeply under the region’s spell as we were beginning to.

But what really drew us into the history of Sommières was its bridge. The Pont Tibère is thought to have been constructed under Emperor Tiberius (42 BC – 37 AD), making it one of the oldest bridges in France still in use. What makes it truly remarkable, however, is that the town of Sommières was only founded in the tenth century — built around the bridge, with people inhabiting large sections of it. To this day, the bridge remains visibly the spine of the town.

 

 

The market in Sommières was vibrant and colourful

 

We happened to visit on a Saturday morning, when the market was in full colour and lively spirit — even in February. We almost missed the antiques stalls, tucked slightly back from the river in the market square, but they were well worth seeking out.

A Region That Stays With You

The Gard stayed with us long after we left. There is something quietly extraordinary about a region where a Roman bridge can still be the beating heart of a living town — a Roman aqueduct defies logic and remains a spectacular structure defying 2000 years of floods and war, and a medieval town adapts to modern technology allowing me to tap away at my laptop by the pool while working on virtual projects with colleagues across the globe. All this while we were housesitting, sampling a new way of life at very little financial cost to us.

The Gard surprised us in so many ways.

Thinking about housesitting as your next base? Find opportunities worldwide at Housesitmatch.com.

 

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Writen by Lamia Walker – a Francophile at heart, slow travel enthusiast and founder of Housesitmatch.com