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Geo: 43.8346, 4.36086
We set off early today to the historical city of Nimes. During our drive there was a traffic jam along our freeway, so we took a detour through one of Europes largest river deltas known as Parc Naturel Regional de Camargue. It is a haven for more than 400 species of birds.
Once arriving in Nimes, which was an important outpost of the past Roman Empire, we parked our vehicle and headed off to explore the narrow streets and tree lined boulevards. Denim jeans originated from Nimes.
We wandered through Jardins de la Fontaine with its neo classical statues and fountains to the Tour Magne. Tour Magne is a 34 m Roman tower that was once a part of the city's outer fortifications and now stands at the top of Jardins de la Fontaine overlooking the city. We climbed the 140 steps up through the tower to enjoy a lovely panoramic view of the city. We then visited the ruins of the Temple of Diana situated near the Jardins de la Fontaine.
After we wandered through some narrow streets we came upon Maison Carree, the best preserved 4AD Roman Temple anywhere. Inside we enjoyed a short movie on the history
of this area. We then stopped and enjoyed some yummy local pastries before heading to the Nimes Arena. It is one of the best preserved twin tiered Roman Amphitheatres in the world. It was built in the 1st century and held 24,000 spectators. Today it is still used for bullfights, rock concerts and dance festivals. They were setting up for a concert during our visit.
We were then off again, this time finding our way out of these narrow streets in the direction of the Pont Du Gard. Thank goodness this car has a GPS! Along our way we stopped for gas and a yummy Magnum ice cream bar! There are vineyards everywhere and fields of sunflowers.
The Pont du Gard is a magnificent aqueduct built by the Romans to carry water from Uzes to Nimes, nearly 50 km. It was erected halfway through the 1st Century AD and stands 50 m high. It was constructed out of yellow limestone blocks, taken from a nearby quarry. It was magnificent to see such an amazing structure still so well preserved. We walked along the lower bridge and climbed to a view point at the top of the structure. We were very
lucky to catch the last tour of the day through the actual waterway of the aqueduct. It was amazing to see the huge calcium deposits along the sides of the limestone walls. Then we we headed back to Narbonne and enjoyed a quick dinner at a local Turkish restaurant.
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Anita Curtis
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Really enjoying your blog and photos it looks amazing.Anita