Sights in Nîmes
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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.
Les Arènes lives on as a frequent sporting and cultural venue - an excellent thing in itself though the scaffolding and temporary barriers do detract from its appeal as a historical site. Buy your ticket at the reception point, tucked into its northern walls.
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B
Les Arènes
Nîmes’ magnificent Roman amphitheatre, the best preserved in the whole of the Roman Empire, was built around AD 100 to seat 24,000 spectators. It’s easy to forget, as one marvels at the architectural accomplishments of the Romans, what a nasty streak they had too. The arena hosted animal fights to the death, stag hunts, man against lion or bear confrontations and, of course, gladiatorial combats. In the contemporary arena, it’s only the bulls that get killed. An advance of a kind, you might say.
There’s a mock-up of the gladiators’ quarters and, if you time it right, you’ll see a couple of actors in full combat gear slugging it out in the arena.
Buy your tick…
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C
Archaeological Museum
The Musée d'Archéologie has some interesting Roman and pre-Roman tombs, mosaics, inscriptions and artefacts unearthed around Nîmes. It also houses a hotchpotch of artefacts from Africa, piled high and tagged with yellowing captions such as 'Abyssinia' and 'Dahomey'. In the same building, the Natural History Museum has a musty collection of stuffed animals.
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D
Tour Magne
The crumbling shell of the 30m-high Tour Magne was raised around 15 BC. Built as a display of imperial power, it’s the largest of a chain of towers that once punctuated the city’s 7km-long Roman ramparts. At the top of its 140 steps, there’s an orientation table to help you interpret the magnificent panorama of Nîmes.
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E
Maison Carrée
The Maison Carrée is a remarkably well preserved rectangular Roman temple, constructed around AD 5 to honour Emperor Augustus’ two adopted sons. Within, a 22-minute 3D film, Héros de Nîmes, is screened every half-hour. An epic piece of flummery subtitled in English and French, it calls up characters from the city’s history.
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Musée Archéologique
Nîmes’ archaeological museum brings together Roman and pre-Roman tombs, mosaics, inscriptions and artefacts unearthed in and around the city. It also houses a hotchpotch of artefacts from Africa, piled high and tagged with yellowing captions such as ‘Abyssinia’ and ‘Dahomey’.
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F
Musée d'Histoire Naturelle
In the same building as the Archaeological Museum, the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle has a musty collection of stuffed animals gazing bleakly out. Only the custodians, protected from importunate visitors inside their own glass case, have life.
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G
Musée du Vieux Nîmes
In the 17th-century episcopal palace, this small museum has, in addition to the usual period costumes and furniture, a whole room showcasing denim, with smiling pin-ups of Elvis, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe.
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H
Musée des Beaux-Arts
The city’s fine-arts museum has a wonderfully preserved Roman mosaic (look down upon it from the 1st floor). This apart, it houses a fairly pedestrian collection of Flemish, Italian and French works.
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I
Musée d’Art Contemporain
Within the Carré d’Art, the museum houses both permanent and rotating exhibitions of modern art. It merits a visit in its own right and to prowl the innards of this striking building.
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