Page 240 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Roman
21 Provence 1 Nîmes
Nîmes’ bizarre coat
of arms – a crocodile
chained to a palm tree! –
recalls the region’s first,
Provence was where Rome first truly flexed its but definitely not last,
imperial muscles. Follow Roman roads, cross horde of sun-worshipping
retirees. Julius Caesar’s
Roman bridges and grab a seat in the bleachers loyal legionnaires were
at Roman theatres and arenas. Thrillingly, granted land here to
settle after hard years
you’ll discover that most of Provence’s Roman on the Nile campaigns.
ruins aren’t ruins at all. Many are exceptionally Two millennia later,
their ambitious town
well preserved, and some are also evocatively blends seamlessly with
integrated into the modern city. With Provence’s the bustling, workaday
French streetscapes
knockout landscape as a backdrop, history never of the modern city. An
looked so good!

# e 0 0 10 miles 20 km Vaison-la-
m K
#
/ · #
6
# \ A7 Romaine
0 ¸
# \ Potelières Bagnols- FG Camaret- D975 R
GARD # \ sur-Cèze 20 sur-Aigues # \ PROVENCE # \ Malaucène
Orange# Bedoin # \
#
5
St-Quentin- Roquemaure # \ # \ Carpentras
# \ # \ la-Poterie # \ Pouzilhac
Baron # \ Monteux
# \ Uzès Tavel # \ # \ Pernes-les-
A9
Pont du / · Pujaut / · # \ Fontaines
0 ¸ Gard # ] A7 Sorgue VAUCLUSE
#
2
#
D112
Avignon # \ L'Isle-sur- # \
0 ¸ Aramon # \ Noves la-Sorgue
D979
l L / · # \ Graveson # \ Durance
A9
# 1
Nîmes # Redessan # \ Cavaillon
# \
Beaucaire # \
# \ Bouillargues # Orgon # \
#
4
# ] Glanum
A7
# \ Bellegarde Rhône Baux-de- Senas / ·
/ · Provence #\ # \
A54
# \ Genérac / · # \ Fontvielle BOUCHES-DU-RHÔNE
D17
Petit Rhône Parc Naturel # Arles # \ Mouriès Eyguières 170 km to
# \
#
3
Régional de
/ ·
23
D5
Camargue
‚ F G