Guided walking holidays in Aude, Languedoc Roussillon, South West France
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NimesThe Romans colonised Nîmes with veterans from the Egyptian campaign, and their emblem, which consists of a crocodile chained to a palm tree, became the symbol of the city. Even the local football club is known as ‘Les Crocos’. Nîmes prospered in the 17th and 18th centuries from dye-making and textiles. Many of the mansions in the old town date from this period. Its local cotton of white warp and blue weft – which was known as ‘denim’ in London as early as 1695 – became a modern staple after Levi Strauss used it to make trousers for Californian gold-diggers. The centre is small enough to walk around, with most of the sights located inside a triangle – called ‘l’ecusson’ (meaning the shield) – formed by the boulevards Gambetta, Victor Hugo and Amiral Courbet. Facing each other across Victor Hugo, the superbly preserved Roman temple, Maison Carrée (place de la Maison Carrée, 04 66 36 26 76), is daringly echoed by the glass and steel Carré d’Art (place de la Maison Carrée, 04 66 76 35 80), a modern art museum designed by Sir Norman Foster. The heart of Nîmes is to be found in the partially pedestrianised Old Town, where shops and cafés are tucked away behind Romanesque arches, walls are half-stripped of modern accretions to reveal the ancient stonework beneath and many 17th- and 18th-century mansions have been beautifully restored. Via Domitia, one of the original Roman gates, leads you between the covered Halles and the Porte Auguste. On the central place des Herbes stands the much-altered Cathédrale de Notre-Dame et St-Castor (04 66 67 27 72). Next door, the former bishop’s palace contains the Musée de Vieux Nîmes (place aux Herbes, 04 66 76 73 70), a collection of local curiosities. At the southern tip of the shield you’ll find the Arènes (boulevard des Arènes, 04 66 76 72 77, box office 4 rue de la Violette, 04 66 02 80 80), which is a preserved Roman amphitheatre that once staged gladiatorial combats and chariot races. It continues to be an arena today, but only for bullfights and concerts. The Musée des Cultures Taurines (6 rue Alexandre Ducros, 04 66 02 80 80), scheduled to reopen on 15 May 2005, offers extensive history of the region. West of the centre, the quai de la Fontaine leads to the Jardin de la Fontaine, a beautiful 18th-century garden laid out with canals, statues and balustraded terraces. At the summit of the hill, the Tour Magne was part of the pre-Roman ramparts; don’t miss the stunning view, best appreciated from the top platform.
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