The former cathedral of Saint-Théodorit sits on the edge of the Esplanade, at the eastern end of the old town. The building itself is a somewhat severe 17th-century construction, rebuilt after the Wars of Religion destroyed much of what stood here before, and it is not the most distinguished church in France. What makes the site unmissable is the Tour Fenestrelle alongside it: a 12th-century round Romanesque bell tower, 42 metres tall, with a spiral of paired arched windows that diminish as they rise. Nothing else in France looks quite like it.
The tower's name comes from the Latin fenestella, small window — a reference to those layered arched openings that climb the shaft in diminishing tiers. Architecturally it belongs to the Lombard Romanesque tradition, more common in northern Italy than in France, and scholars have long argued about how it ended up here. The most straightforward explanation is trade: Uzès was prosperous in the 12th century and its bishops had Italian connections. Whatever the origin, the result is one of the most distinctive pieces of Romanesque architecture in southern France. The tower is visible from much of the town; approach it from the Esplanade for the best view.