Page 139 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

BOUCHES-DU-RHONE AND NIMES  137

There are also rooms on botany, T Castellum VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
geology, mineralogy, palaeon­ Rue de la Lampèze.
tology and prehistoric archae­ Between the Porte d’Auguste Practical Information
ology, spread over three floors. and the Tour Magne, set in the Road map A3. * 150,019. n 6
The archaeological collection Roman wall, is the Castellum, rue Auguste (04 66 58 38 00) &
will be moved to the Musée de a tower used for storing the Pavillon de l’Esplanade, Esplanade
la Romanité once it opens. The water brought in from Uzès Charles de Gaulle. ( daily.
atmospheric chapel in this one­ via the aqueduct at Pont du _ Feria de Pentecôte (May/Jun);
time Jesuits’ College is used for Gard (see p135). The water Feria des Vendanges (late Sep).
∑ ot-nimes.fr
temporary displays. was distributed in the town by
means of a canal duct system. Transport
E Musée des Beaux-Arts k Nîmes­Arles­Camargue. £
Rue Cité Foulc. Tel 04 66 28 18 32. Y Les Jardins de la Fontaine @ Pl de l’ONU.
Open Tue–Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, Quai de la Fontaine. Tel 04 66 21
1 Nov, 25 Dec. & 7 82 56 (Tour Magne). Open daily. &
A diverse collection in the Fine The city’s main park lies at the building in France. There are
Art Museum includes paintings end of the wide avenue Jean­ 140 steps, worth climbing for
by Boucher, Rubens and Watteau. Jaurès. It was named after an a fine view of Mont Ventoux.
The ground floor displays a large underground spring harnessed
Roman mosaic, The Marriage in the 18th century. The park’s
of Admetus, found in 1883 in 2nd­century Temple of Diana is
Nîmes’ former covered market. today in ruins. Benedictine nuns
lived there during the Middle
R Cathédrale Notre-Dame Ages and converted it into a
et St-Castor church, which was sacked in the
Pl aux Herbes. Tel 04 66 67 27 72. Wars of Religion (see pp50–51).
Open daily & for services. At the summit of the 114­m
Nîmes’ cathedral, in the centre (374­ft) Mont Cavalier stands
of the Old Town, dates from the 32­m (105­ft) octagonal
the 11th century but was Tour Magne. Of all the towers
extensively rebuilt in the 19th originally set in Nîmes’ Roman
century. The west front has a wall, this is the most remarkable.
partly Romanesque frieze with Dating from 15 BC, it is the L’Obéissance Récompensée by Boucher,
scenes from the Old Testament. earliest surviving Roman Musée des Beaux-Arts

PLACE
Nîmes ST CHARLES
Castellum FOR T R D U B OU LEVAR D G A MB ET TA
1 Les Arènes AVIGNON
2 Porte d’Auguste Les Jardins RUE
SQUARE
3 Musée du Vieux Nîmes de la Fontaine ANTONIN R DU G D CO UV E NT R D U M É R I ER D'ESPAGNE N ATIONAL E
Porte
4 Carré d’Art Q UAI DE RUE DES L O MBA RD S R U E DES O R A NGERS d’Auguste
5 Maison Carrée LA FON TAI NE BD RUE P ER RIE R CHÂTEAU Grand
PL DU
6 Musée d’Histoire Naturelle RUE BOISSIER D A UDE T Maison RU E GE N E RA L GU I Z O T PL AUX Cathédrale Temple
Carrée
Notre-Dame
7 Musée des Beaux­Arts R UE DE L 'H O R LOG E HERBES et St-Castor
8 Cathédrale Notre­ Carré du Vieux COU RB ET RUE ROUSSY
Musée
Musée
Dame et St­Castor d'Art RUE DE LA MADELEINE Nîmes d'Histoire
Naturelle
B D
PLACE R UE DE L'ASPIC AM IR AL
DE LA RUE FR ES Q UE RUE DES GREFFES
MADELAINE RUE DE L'ETOILE BD
Hôtel
R U E E M ILE R U E DU MARCHÉ de Ville COURONNE
SQ DE LA
JAMAI S
PLACE
Palais de
RUE RÉGALE
B D D E S BD DE LA LIBERATION P R A GU E
Justice
ARÈNES
V IC T O R -H UG O
P O R T E
Esplanade
Charles de
D E
MONTPELLIER
Nemausus I
F RUE JEA N-REB OU L Les Arènes Gaulle B D D E ARLES,
PLACE
0 metres 250 R U E B IG OT R A N C E DES ARÈNES
RUE DE LA REPUBLIQUE RU E DE L A CI T E
Gare SNCF,
0 yards 250 R UE R UE BR ICO NNET 200 m (220 yards)
Gare Routière
DA G O BE RT
Key to Symbols see back flap Aeroport R UE BO UR DALOUE Musée des
12 km (7.5 miles) Beaux-Arts