Visit Nîmes with me on a three-day journey to explore its Roman treasures and its hidden gems! I fell in love with this city, famous for its Roman ruins, but which also hides other beautiful secrets. I loved seeing Roman monuments pop up around every corner, reminiscent of the streets of Rome and, closer to home, Arles, another city I loved!
Although Nîmes reached its peak in the 2nd century AD, today’s city reveals many facets to those who take the time to unravel its mysteries. So let me take you on a tour of its yellow-hued streets and small squares, push open a few secret doors to discover its mansions, and admire the gigantic local street art frescoes!
Here is my complete guide to visit Roman Nîmes, but also the more unusual side of the city!
VISIT NÎMES : PRACTICAL TIPS
How to get to Nîmes?
By car, Nîmes is 7 hours from Paris, 2 hours 40 minutes from Lyon, and 1 hour 20 minutes from Marseille.
By train, Paris is only 3 hours away, Lyon is 1 hour and 20 minutes away, and Marseille is 1 hour away.
The Pont du Gard is located 30 minutes by car northeast of Nîmes. It is accessible by bus (see timetables here), but the car is still the most convenient way to get there!
Compare car rentals to find the best price in Nîmes!
How long should you spend in Nîmes?
The city center of Nîmes is not huge, and it is possible to visit Nîmes on foot and get a nice first impression of the city in a day. Visiting Nîmes in 3 days allows you to enjoy the different atmospheres of the city and discover the surrounding area, including the legendary Pont du Gard!
Practical tips to visit Nîmes
I highly recommend purchasing the City Pass to visit Nîmes more easily!
It is available in 2-, 4-, or 7-day formats and provides access to the following sites:
– The three main Roman monuments in Nîmes (the Arena, the Maison Carrée, and the Magne Tower)
– All museums in Nîmes
– Access to the Pont du Gard museum and the crypt of the Abbey of Saint Gilles
– A guided tour or a tour of Nîmes on a tourist train
Prices: 2 days: €29, 4 days: €37, 7 days: €39
You can buy it online or at the tourist office at the foot of the arena.
Where to stay to visit Nîmes?
If you like beautiful bed and breakfasts, I highly recommend L’Antichambre, located just a minute’s walk from the arena! An ideal place to stay to visit Nîmes!
L’Antichambre is a lovely little hideaway in the heart of Nîmes! The rooms are decorated with modern sophistication, and you can also enjoy a very pleasant urban garden in the evening and for breakfast!
Jean-Luc will give you a warm welcome and share his passion for Nîmes… and for good food. As a former chef, he serves a very original breakfast with a varied tasting plate: from scallops to truffle eggs, your taste buds will be in heaven!
My favorite restaurants in Nîmes
I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of great places to visit in downtown Nîmes!
Some of them offer magnificent views of Roman monuments, such as the arena and the Maison Carrée.
Here are my favorites:
- Le Bon Coin: a seasonal, local, and short-chain menu featuring dishes bursting with flavor! Just a stone’s throw from the arena.
- Le Ciel de Nîmes: an excellent restaurant perched at the top of the Carré d’Art, with a sublime view of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes!
- La Table du 2: a bistronomic restaurant run by Franck Putelat, a two-star chef and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, at the top of the Musée de la Romanité. The cuisine is refined and delicious, and the view of the arena is breathtaking!
- Menna: gourmet Mediterranean cuisine in the heart of the picturesque streets of the historic center
- Texture Comptoir: a great place that’s part café, part canteen, part concept store, just a stone’s throw from the Maison Carrée.
What to bring back from Nîmes?
VISIT NÎMES : DISCOVER ITS ROMAN GEMS
The Roman Amphitheater
Practical information: €10 per adult, €5 for children (free with the Nîmes Citypass) – opening hours vary depending on the month, so check the Arènes de Nîmes website
TICKETS for the Roman Amphitheater available here
People often want to visit Nîmes for its amphitheater, and with good reason! Considered the best-preserved arenas in the Roman world, they have stood proudly in the city center for 2,000 years!
This immense monument, measuring 130 meters by 100 meters, once hosted animal and gladiator fights, as well as hunts, in front of some 24,000 spectators!
The tour allows you to discover the arena’s hidden corners, the history of the gladiators, all the hidden passageways, and the little secrets of the arena and the ancient world with audio guides.
It’s hard to imagine that the arena was later walled up and inhabited like a fortified castle, with houses right up to the current track!
Today, the arena continues to be used for other shows, such as the Festival de Nîmes, which welcomes world-class artists and musicians throughout the summer season! Attending a show of this caliber in such a setting is definitely a dream come true!
Maison Carrée
Practical information: €6 per adult, €3 for children (free with the Nîmes Citypass) – opening hours vary depending on the month, so check the Maison Carrée website
The second must-see ancient monument to visit Nîmes is the Maison Carrée… which isn’t square! Today, it is the best-preserved Roman temple along with the Pantheon in Rome!
The exhibition inside reveals the mysteries of the monument, but it is the exterior that remains the most impressive! Built in the center of the forum square, which is still open today, it looks magnificent with its majestic columns and magnificent acanthus leaf decorations…
Just opposite, the Carré d’Art was built in 1993 by the famous architect Norman Foster, with the aim of echoing the ancient monument! The old and the new definitely complement each other very well in Nîmes…
Tour Magne & jardins de la Fontaine (gardens)
Practical information: Jardins de la Fontaine: free admission – Tour Magne: €3 per adult, €1.50 for children (free with the Nîmes Citypass) – opening hours vary depending on the month, check the Tour Magne website
Now head to the magnificent Jardins de la Fontaine, the green lung of Nîmes! These 18th-century French gardens are home to the Temple of Diana at their foot and the Tour Magne, built in 15 BC, at their summit.
Don’t hesitate to climb inside the tower: the staircase is steep and impressive, but the panoramic view of Nîmes and the Alpilles in the distance is well worth the effort!
You can then enjoy the gardens for a stroll in the afternoon, or even cool off in the shade in summer!
Porte Auguste
Other Roman remains are scattered throughout the city center, such as the imposing Porte Auguste! A remnant of the Roman wall, this huge gate now blends perfectly into the contemporary landscape…
Musée de la Romanité
Practical information: open every day from April to October (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and every day except Tuesdays from November to March (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) – €9 per adult, €3 for children (free with the Nîmes Citypass) – opening hours vary depending on the month, so check the museum’s website . Free access for all to the roof terrace and garden with its Roman rampart ruins.
Visit Nîmes and explore the fascinating Musée de la Romanité ! Located opposite the arena, this archaeological museum opened its doors in 2018. Although mainly devoted to the Roman world, it does not neglect the Gallic period or even the Middle Ages!
Its collections are incredibly rich, but it was theinterior architecture, with its curved metal structures, and the highly successful museography that impressed me the most! Thecollection of mosaics is breathtaking, as is the scenography of the temporary exhibition (dedicated to Achilles in 2024)!
VISIT NÎMES : DISCOVER THE HIDDEN GEMS
Nîmes surprised me, as I think it does every visitor who comes to admire its Roman wonders… Because Nîmes is not just Roman, it is also Renaissance, Classical, and Contemporary!
I highly recommend taking the guided tour “Nîmes au fil des siècles” (Nîmes through the centuries) offered by the tourist office to discover all the facets of Nîmes! It gives you a good understanding of the history of Nîmes and how it has evolved from the Roman arenas to modern times!
Don’t hesitate to look up and let yourself be surprised by the many historical details scattered throughout the streets of the city!
Admire the Expo de Ouf, Nîmes-style street art
Practical information: open-air exhibition with free admission – map of the works here or available in paper format at the Spot, 8 rue de l’Enclos Rey
One of the most wonderful surprises in Nîmes for me was a visit to the Expo de Ouf! (The name alone sounds appealing, doesn’t it?). Launched by a neighborhood association in 2013 to revitalize the streets adjacent to the historic center, it now features more than fifty superb murals, each more colorful than the last, by a wide variety of street artists.
Every year, new residents offer their walls to artists and new murals spring up in the Richelieu and Gambetta neighborhoods.
A stroll to discover the different murals is really enjoyable and promises some wonderful surprises, as there is something for everyone in these sunny streets!
Museum of Old Nîmes
Practical information: open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and until 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday – €5 per adult – website
Another discovery to make if you come to visit Nîmes: the Museum of Old Nîmes, nestled in the 18th-century former bishop’s palace. A history museum that showcases local heritage and craftsmanship, it has a wide variety of collections! Decorative arts, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and other local techniques are highlighted in a very beautiful setting.
I really appreciate this kind of eclectic and varied museum, which allows you to discover different aspects of the city’s history. In particular, you can learn about the history of Serge de Nîmes and its faded effect, which is said to be related to Levi Strauss’s “denim,” of which it is the ancestor…
And this year, as part of the contemporary art triennial, the museum is hosting works by Pierre Soulages and Jeanne Vicerial, which echo the great master of black! A beautiful visual, auditory, and olfactory experience that can be enjoyed in several rooms of the museum.
Step inside the mansions of Nîmes
Practical information: €8 per person – dates and times to be confirmed on the tourist office website and at the tourist office reception – booking required
If there’s one thing you don’t expect when strolling through the narrow streets of Nîmes, it’s the number of courtyards and mansions hidden behind the doors!
Imagine: there are a total of around forty mansions, of impressive architectural variety, which can be discovered on a guided tour. The textile trade made Nîmes particularly prosperous, and the wealthy merchants of the 17th and 18th centuries left behind a beautiful legacy in their homes!
I loved discovering this (well) hidden side of Nîmes behind its sober facades…
And if you don’t have the opportunity to take the guided tour, I recommend at least visiting Nîmes Town Hall, whose courtyard and grand staircase overlooked by four impressive crocodiles—symbols of the city—are definitely worth a visit!
Tasting Brandade de Nîmes
Practical information: Boutique & Maison de la Brandade “La Nîmoise” – open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (open all day on Saturdays) – website
Did you know that cod brandade originated in Nîmes? This specialty made exclusively from cod (and not potatoes as elsewhere) was born from a barter between Breton fishermen and salt sellers from the nearby salt marshes of the south.
You can try it at the Maison de la Brandade, run by the Mouton family, who are the fourth generation of brandade makers: a institution in Nîmes!
Matured for several weeks and then flaked by hand, brandade comes in a variety of flavors depending on the season, but they all have one thing in common: they are smooth, creamy, and delicious! As Alphonse Daudet said, “La Brandade Nîmoise is unrivalled; it preserves the accent, white teeth, and memories!”
Don’t hesitate to step inside the pretty shop at the Maison de la Brandade, where the warm welcome and passion for brandade will undoubtedly leave you with fond memories!
VISIT NÎMES AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
Visit Nîmes and The Pont du Gard
Practical information: the site is open every day from 8:00 a.m. to midnight – free admission (parking: €9/car) – guided tour (access to the canal and museum included): €15. Reservations and information on the website. Don’t hesitate to come and discover the bridge early in the morning when there are still few people around. It’s magical!
TICKETS for the PONT DU GARD available here
Located just 30 minutes from Nîmes, the Pont du Gard is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful sites in France. With its history, architecture, aesthetics and surroundings, it offers a magical experience to all visitors discovering it for the first time…
Built in three to five years in the middle of the 1st century AD, it was used to supply Nîmes with water from a spring located 50 km from the city. At the time, it was a true demonstration of the technical prowess, wealth, and power of the Roman Empire!
Even today, standing before these stones that have stood for two millennia, it is easy to let your mind wander and imagine what it was like 2,000 years ago…
The remaining section is still impressive: 50 m high, 275 m long (it was once the tallest aqueduct in the Roman world), with a 12-meter slope (over 50 km: just imagine the ingenuity of the Romans).
You can cross the bridge thanks to a second “twin” bridge added in the 18th century to facilitate trade.
But if you want to cross the ancient bridge, you can do so via the canal (at the very top, on the third floor) during guided tours! It’s quite incredible to discover the hidden side of the bridge and admire the panoramic view of the aqueduct surrounded by water!
The site is breathtaking in its own right, but the tour also reveals many of the secrets behind the construction of the Pont du Gard.
You can then continue your walk through the scrubland and discover the superb thousand-year-old olive trees at the foot of the aqueduct.
You can even swim at the foot of the Pont du Gard in the green waters of the Gardon River! And even if you don’t take a dip, I recommend sitting on the rocky banks of the river to admire the reflection of the bridge in the water and let yourself be lulled by the lapping of the waves!
More places to visit near Nîmes
– Les Gorges du Gardon (25 minutes away): a pretty canyon located between Nîmes and Uzès, very popular in summer and ideal for walks and swimming!
– Uzès (30 minutes away): a charming medieval town where you can stroll through picturesque streets and the bucolic Eure Valley!
– Saint Gilles Abbey (30 minutes away): listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Way of St. James, this is one of the gems of the Gard region! A 12th-century architectural gem that is a must-see if you come to explore the region!
– Arles (45 minutes away): another city similar to Nîmes, which harmoniously blends Provençal style with a contemporary feel and Roman ruins in the middle of its narrow streets… Check out 8 Top Things to See in Arles in One Day
– Bambouseraie en Cévennes (50 minutes): a sublime botanical garden, which is the largest bamboo forest in Europe! Not to be missed if you’re in the area!
– Avignon (50 minutes): the city of popes is one of the nicest cities in the south of France, with its magnificent monuments and pretty narrow streets that host the famous festival in July! Find my complete guide to Visiting Avignon here!
– Aigues-Mortes and the Camargue (1 hour away): for me, this is one of the prettiest parts of France, with its salt marshes, bird park, and exotic landscapes! Find my guide to A weekend in the Camargue: my 6 must-see attractions here!
This blogpost follows an invitation from the Nîmes Tourist Office. However, I remain entirely free to express my own opinions and am completely sincere in my recommendations! A huge thank you to Audrey and all the service providers for their valuable advice and passion for their city!
Coming soon on La Marinière en Voyage…
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