Nimes Vacations, Nimes Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Nimes Vacation Guide

Nimes (from latin "Nemausus") is a small but historically rich south-eastern town of about 150,000. It has strong Roman influences as well as old southern French charm.

Some imposing structures not to be missed: the Quais de la Fontaine and the beautiful Jardins de la Fontaine, built by Louis XV's military engineer Jacques Philippe Mareschal. The gardens are topped by a much older building, the Tour Magne, dating from the 3rd century AD. The Romans left behind les Arenes de Nimes, an old-fashioned arena which is still used to this day, and the Maison Carree ("Square House"), an old Roman temple dedicated to honor Emperor Augustus's adopted grandsons, Caius and Lucius. Nimes is also one of the few historically Protestant communities in France, so there are many old Protestant churches to see within the city walls.

There are also plenty of museums, most notably the "musee des Cultures taurines," focusing on the ancient obsession with bulls still seen everywhere in the South between Spain and Italy (there are still "corridas" here every year). There's also a labyrinth of winding little streets between the Arenes and the Maison Carree full of trendy shops, and every year there's a Marche de Noel ("Christmas Market") near the Maison Carree, and in the summer you can find the Jeudis de Nimes ("Thursdays of Nimes"), where you can find food, dance, street merchants selling almost anything you can imagine, and plenty more, late into the night.