Thursday July 18

Nîmes

Today we got up and headed off to the train station again.  We're getting to be very good at the local buses and Metro. 

We got on our train to Nîmes, which departed right on time.  All the trains came and went exactly as they ought to today, so that's out of the way!

Nîmes was a great choice.  It was a completely different city from Avignon.  Avignon is medieval with small roads and impressive old rock castle-like buildings.  Nîmes is more elegant, as Megan put it.  And the Roman remains are awesome.

We started our visit at the Arènes de Nîmes.  This is said to be one of the best preserved of the Roman amphitheaters.  It's still used.  We had a great tour, but inside was covered in the staging and stands setup for a concert with Tears for Fears and UB40 this evening. 

Long stroll along pedestrian boulevard with water feature

Arènes de Nîmes

In the Vomitorium

Concert Stage Taken From Seats High Up in Amphitheater

We bought a ticket at the stadium that covers three attractions, so next we walked up the street to the Maison Carrée.  This is an old Roman temple.  Here we waited for 15 minutes on the front steps, and then went in for about a half hour movie that was a fun dramatic recreation of a historical family of Nîmes that spanned the transition from Gaul to Roman. 

Maison Carrée

Portico

 

We wandered from there around some of the canal to the park, and then back a bit where we found a restaurant.  Today was a nice salmon spaghetti and salad with mineral water and the compulsory rosé. 

Lots of Koi-Like Fish Everywhere We Went Today: Carp Diem

Then we made the climb up the hills in Les Jardins de La Fontine to the Roman tower at the top, La Tour Magne.  Climbing up inside this monument gave us a great view of the city, and just a touch of vertigo.  We had a fun chat with the fellow who took our ticket at the bottom about Canada, and he was anxious to show us he knew our anthem.

La Tour Magne

Inside Climb

From Top of Tower

After the tower we came down the hill to inspect the Temple de Diane.  This has not been maintained, repaired or upgraded as have some of the other monuments, but is in pretty good shape for its 1900 years.  Finally, we walked back towards the Arena to wander around in the Musée de la Romanité.  Nothing we saw today disappointed.  I'd go back to Nîmes in a heartbeat. 

Temple de Diane

We enjoyed a pressé across from the train station, then headed in to catch our train.  In Marseille we metro-ed bused back to the grocery store we use, shopped, and headed home to take a load off.  Today's total walk was 14.15 km.