Nîmes Sights

  1. Carré d'Art

    The striking glass and steel building across the square from the Maison Carrée, completed in 1993, is the Carré d'Art (place de la Maison Carrée), which houses the municipal library and Musée d'Art Contemporain. The work of British architect Sir Norman Foster, it harmonises well with the Maison Carrée and is everything modern architecture should be: innovative, complementary and beautiful - a wonderful, airy building to just float around.

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  2. Roman Amphitheatre

    Built around AD 100 to seat 24,000 spectators, this magnificent amphitheatre is wonderfully preserved, even retaining its upper storey. Its system of passages and exits are engagingly called vomitories and were designed so patricians attending combats never had to rub shoulders with the plebs up top. It lives on as Les Arènes , a sporting and cultural venue.

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  3. Tour Magne

    A 10- to 15-minute uphill walk to the top of the Jardins de la Fontaine (Fountain Gardens) brings you to the crumbling shell of the 30m high Tour Magne, raised around 15 BC and the largest of a chain of towers that once punctuated the city's 7km-long Roman ramparts. From here, there's a magnificent view of Nîmes and the surrounding countryside.

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