Constructed in gleaming limestone around AD 5, this temple was built to honour Emperor Augustus’ two adopted sons. Despite the name, the Maison Carrée (Square House) is actually rectangular – to the Romans, ‘square’ simply meant a building with right angles. The building is beautifully preserved, complete with stately columns and triumphal steps. There's no need to go inside unless you're interested in the relatively cheesy 22-minute 3D film.
Maison Carrée
Nîmes
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.69 MILES
The extraordinary three-tiered Pont du Gard was once part of a 50km-long system of channels built around 19 BC to transport water from Uzès to Nîmes. The…
0.29 MILES
Nîmes’ twin-tiered amphitheatre is the best preserved in France. Built around 100 BC, the arena once seated 24,000 spectators and staged gladiatorial…
28.48 MILES
Founded in 1825 by painter François-Xavier Fabre, this exceptional museum houses one of France’s richest collections of European art. The galleries…
23.81 MILES
The largest Gothic palace ever built, the Palais des Papes was erected by Pope Clement V, who abandoned Rome in 1309 in the wake of violent disorder after…
23.78 MILES
Legend says Pastor Bénézet (a former shepherd) had three visions urging him to build a bridge across the Rhône. Completed in 1185, the 900m-long bridge…
24.51 MILES
It might lack the scale and ambition of some of Provence's better-known Roman monuments, but for a glimpse into everyday life in Gaul, this ancient town…
17.65 MILES
In Roman Gaul, every important town had an amphitheatre, where gladiators and wild animals met their (usually grisly) ends. Few examples have survived,…
24.29 MILES
This monastery turned asylum is famous for one of its former residents – the ever-volatile Vincent van Gogh, who admitted himself in 1889. Safe within the…
Nearby Nîmes attractions
1. Carré d’Art – Musée d'Art Contemporain
0.05 MILES
The striking glass-and-steel Carré d’Art was designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster. Inside is the Musée d’Art Contemporain, with permanent and…
0.19 MILES
Inside the city's 17th-century episcopal palace, the town museum delves into the history of Nîmes from Roman times through to the modern era, with lots of…
0.29 MILES
Nîmes’ twin-tiered amphitheatre is the best preserved in France. Built around 100 BC, the arena once seated 24,000 spectators and staged gladiatorial…
0.32 MILES
Nîmes' natural history museum has the usual displays of stuffed beasties, fossils and skeletons, as well as a few menhirs (standing stones) decorated by…
0.33 MILES
Roman remains in these elegant gardens include the 30m-high Tour Magne, raised around 15 BC – the largest of a chain of towers conveying imperial power…
0.34 MILES
Opened in mid-2018, this futuristic steel-and-glass structure faces Les Arènes right in the heart of the city. Within, the ambitious archaeological museum…
0.4 MILES
Topped by twin towers reaching 70m, Nîmes' largest church (accommodating up to 3000 worshippers) was built in neogothic style between 1867 and 1877.
0.49 MILES
The city’s fine-arts museum has a fairly pedestrian collection of Flemish, Italian and French works, although it’s worth a look for the fine Roman mosaic,…