We drove to Nimes about an hour away to see some of the sights which make it famous. As usual, our Google route finder guided us into the city and to an underground carpark near to the centre of town. The underground carparks are very tight in places, and this one was no exception. Emerging into the bright sun we found ourselves just a few metres from the Maison Carree.
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| In front of the 2,000 year old Maison Carree ("square house") |
The Maison Carree in Nimes is one of the best preserved surviving Roman temple.
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| Details from the top of the Corinthian columns. |
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| A short distance down the road is the Nimes arena. |
The Nimes area is also about 2,000 years old, and is still in use as an entertainment venue. Parts of the original tiered seating are missing, but most of the structure is intact. Inside it is a complex maze of stairways and arches giving access to all parts of the arena. When we went inside we found it was newly asphalted, which did not really seem right, and was also rather smelly in the hot sun.
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| Nimes arena. |
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| Lisa and Adam high on the lip of the arena. |
Sue and I visited Nimes on our first trip to France many years ago, in 1986. We had a train pass which meant we could hop on and off, and we decided to hop off here on an impulse.
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| Flashback: Sue on top of the arena back in 1986. |
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| Lunch in the shade near the arena. It was a hot day. |
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| Water flows away from the spring in the Gardens of the Fountain. |
The "Jardins de la Fontaine" were a popular place for the locals on this hot day, but I was disappointed that the fountains were not running. It was still very pleasant with the waters running around the park. The waters come from a spring which has been the centre of settlements here since about 600 BC.
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| The big head feeding a water feature in the street. |
Above the gardens on the hill is an ancient roman tower, the Tour Magna. We didn't get up there this time, but we did on our last visit in 1986.
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| Sue on the ancient roman tower on the hill, "Tour Magne" in 1986. |
Nimes provides reminders of the achievements of Roman architecture and engineering all those years ago. Like the arena some of it is still in use today. How many of today's structures will be able to say that in 2,000 years time?
