NIMES – www.nimes-tourisme.com
Nîmes is flexing its ancient muscle. Not only is it celebrating its significant Roman remains and heritage through new museums, but it is doing so through building projects as architecturally audacious as those of the Romans. The self same Romans who planted the surrounding vineyards (some of the oldest in Europe), an inheritance the Nimois also use to great effect. This is hardly out of character for a city dedicated to high-profile festivals and other quality fabric-of-life challenges… especially the tough, twilled cloth that now and forever bears its name (see the fun fact below).
Fun Fact
The famous serge cloth used in jeans was originally from Nîmes: de (from) + Nîmes = denim.
Significant Site
Arène de Nîmes: the best-preserved Roman amphitheater in France, now used as a bull fighting and concert arena
Extraordinary Exhibit
Musée des Beaux-Arts: a growing collection of fine European art from past centuries
Delectable Delights
brandade de Nîmes: a purée of salt cod with olive oil and a little milk
Costières de Nîmes wines: from vineyards that are some of the oldest in Europe
Legendary Local
Louis Perrier: the doctor who founded and owned the original Perrier water spa that still carries his name
Daring Development
Opening in 2018: the Musée de la Romanité dedicated entirely to Roman civilization
Also in the Area
Pont du Gard: the towering (160 feet hight) remains of a 2,000-year-old, three-tiered Roman aqueduct
Arles: a city notable for its UNESCO World Heritage Site-listed Roman and Romanesque monuments and for its most famous resident – great Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh
Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Montmajour: a fortified Benedictine monastery, the oldest one in Provence, built between the 10th and 18th centuries
Access from Paris
by road: about 6 h 45 min (442 miles) via the A6 and A7 autoroute du Soleil
by train: about 3 hours by TGV from the Gare de Lyon
For more about what to see and do in and around Nîmes, including on the “On the Sunshine Route" itinerary, visit www.topfrenchcitybreaks.com