Page 138 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

136  PROVENCE AREA B Y AREA

5 Nîmes this museum. The old­fashioned
interior has been beautifully
A magnificent carved black bull at the end of the avenue restored: the summer room
Jean-Jaurès highlights Nîmes’ passion for bullfighting. Crowds has Directoire and Empire­style
fill Les Arènes, the Roman amphitheatre, for bullfights during furnishings and Old Town views.
the two annual ferias (see pp36–8). Year round, the city’s E Carré d’Art (Musée d’Art
biggest draw is its fine Roman architecture, and it is a great Contemporain)
city of the arts. The city’s textile industry is famous for creating Pl de la Maison Carrée. Tel 04 66 76
denim (de Nîmes), worn by the Camargue cowboys. Most 35 70. Open Tue–Sun. & 8 7 =
shops stock vividly coloured Provençal fabrics, known as - ∑ carreartmusee.com
indiennes (see p221). On the opposite side of the
square from the Maison Carrée,
this modern, light­flooded art
Exploring Nîmes smaller than Arles’ amphitheatre complex opened in 1993 and
Roman veterans from Emperor (see p150). It was built as a venue was designed by Norman Foster.
Augustus’s 31 BC Egyptian cam­ for gladiatorial combat, and you
paign introduced the city’s coat can see a demonstration of their
of arms: a crocodile chained to fighting technique. After Rome’s
a palm tree. Today, the logo is collapse in AD 476, it became a
splashed on everything from fortress and knights’ head­
bollards to road signs. quarters. Until its 19th­
Nîmes’ generous century restoration, it
boulevards give it was used as home for
a wide­open feel. 2,000 people in slum
A renaissance of conditions. Today it is
modern building, art thought to be one of the
and design, including The city’s coat of arms: a best preserved of all
the fine Carré d’Art, crocodile and palm tree Roman amphitheatres.
lends a touch of class.
Some of the newer monuments, T Porte d’Auguste Modernist façade of Norman Foster’s
such as the Fontaine du Blvd Amiral Courbet. Carré d’Art
Crocodile in place du Marché, With a central arch 6 m (20 ft)
are becoming as well known as high and 4 m (13 ft) wide, this
Nîmes’ most familiar landmark, gate was built to take horsemen P Maison Carrée
the Castellum. and carriages, since the main Pl de la Maison Carrée. Tel 04 66 21
road from Rome to Spain, the 82 56. Open daily. & ∑ arenes-
T Les Arènes Domitian Way, passed through nimes.com
(L’Amphithéâtre) the middle of Nîmes. The Maison Carrée (“square
Place des Arènes. Tel 04 66 21 82 56. An ancient inscription tells house”) is the world’s best­
Open daily. Closed Feria de Pentecôte, visitors that the city walls were preserved Roman temple. Built
Feria des Vendanges & performance built in 15 BC. by Marcus Agrippa, it is Hellenic
days. & 7 restricted. = with Corinthian columns
∑ arenes-nimes.com E Musée du Vieux Nîmes around the main hall. Louis XIV’s
The most dramatic of the city’s Pl aux Herbes. Tel 04 66 76 73 70. chief minister, Colbert, wanted it
Roman ruins is the 1st­century Open Tue–Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, taken brick by brick to Versailles.
amphitheatre. At 130 m (427 ft) 1 Nov, 25 Dec. = A multimedia film – Nemausus,
by 100 m (328 ft) and with The 17th­century Bishop’s Palace the birth of Nîmesîmesî – is shown
seating for 22,000, it is slightly just east of the cathedral houses inside the temple.
E Musée d’Histoire Naturelle
13 bis blvd Amiral Courbet.
Tel 04 66 76 73 45. Open Tue–Sun.
Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 1 Nov, 25 Dec. 8
Set around a cloister and 17th­
century chapel, this museum, still
undergoing renovation, covers
three themes: the prehistoric
period, ethnography and zoology.
Visitors can see collections
devoted to mammals and birds,
including bears, the Siberian
tiger, the Canadian moose and
The Roman amphitheatre, today used for bullfights at festival times even a prehistoric auroch or bull.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp200–1 and pp212–15