Tourist information -
Nimes
On the border between Provence and Languedoc, the
name of NIMES is inescapably linked to two things - denim and Rome.
The latter's influence is highly visible in some of the most extensive
Roman remains in Europe, while the former ( de Nimes ), equally
visible on the backsides of the populace, was first manufactured
in the city's textile mills, and exported to the southern USA in
the nineteenth century to clothe slaves. It's worth a visit, in
part for the ruins and, nowadays, for the city's new-found energy
and direction, enlisting the services of a galaxy of architects
and designers - including Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel and Philippe
Starck - in a bid to wrest southern supremacy from neighbouring
Montpellier.
Most of what you'll want to see is contained within the boulevards
de la Libération, Amiral-Courbet, Gambetta and Victor-Hugo,
and there is much pleasure to be had from just wandering the narrow
lanes that they enclose, discovering unexpected squares with their
fountains and cafés. The focal point of the city, the first-century
Roman arena, known as Les Arènes (open daily: July &
Aug 9am-6.30pm; rest of year 9am-noon & 2-5pm; closed during
special events), lies at the junction of boulevards de la Libération
and Victor-Hugo. One of the best-preserved Roman arenas anywhere,
its arcaded two-storey facade conceals massive interior vaulting,
riddled with corridors and supporting raked tiers of seats with
a capacity of more than 20,000 spectators, whose staple fare was
the blood and guts of gladiatorial combat. When Rome's sway was
broken by the barbarian invasions, the arena became a fortress and
eventually a slum, home to an incredible 2000 people when it was
cleared in the early 1800s. Today it has recovered something of
its former role, with the passionate summer crowds still turning
out for some real-life blood-letting - Nimes is the premier European
bullfighting scene outside Spain.
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