So Nimes is Pretty Neat

The gardens in Nimes around the originally developed Roman reservoir

A Roman town from Roman times.  Yup.  Nimes is pretty cool.  It has the best preserved ampitheatre from Roman times.  And if you have read any of my previous posts about Roman times – you know that I love it.

Sculptures within the water reservoirs and the park

The city derives its name from that of a spring in the Roman village. The contemporary coat of arms of the city of Nîmes includes a crocodile chained to a palm tree with the inscription COLNEM, for Colonia Nemausus, meaning the “colony” or “settlement” of Nemausus, the local Celtic god of the Volcae Arecomici. Veterans of the Roman legions who had served Julius Caesar in his Nile campaigns, at the end of fifteen years of soldiering, were given plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes.

The Temple of Diane

The city was located on the Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC which connected Italy to Spain.

Inside the Temple of Diane

Something that strikes me about this city, and Montpellier, which I also visited, is how the historic remnants are in such good condition.  And then I realize that for the most part, because France was under German occupation during WWII, their cities did not get the same beating as Britain or Germany.  It is pretty cool that this stuff is still here and in such good condition.

The Maison Cariers I believe - I will fix that once I check it - from 2 century AD

Aside from my initial bombardment of French rudeness, I started to warm up to the place.  I went for a run through the Jardin, where the old reservoir, constructed by the Romans still stands, and the Tour Magne, the Roman Tower, which stood on the highest point, also stands.  In that same area is the Temple of Diane, which it is assumed was used for familial ceremonies.

Outside of the Nimes Arena (aka ampitheatre)

One thing I have noticed off the top, is that the French are not big proponents of picking up their doggie doo-doo.  However, they do have more litter bins around, which I find helpful.  The other funny thing is how hard I found it up until today – Tuesday – to find a meal that didn’t consist of just crepes, or fries, or steak, or fast food.  I thought the French were supposed to be connessieurs (spelling) of  fine cuisine.  You had me fooled.

Porta Augusta

However, back to Nimes.  Nîmes became a Roman colony sometime before 28 BC. Some years later a sanctuary and other constructions connected with the fountain were raised on the site. The city had an estimated population of 60,000 in the time of Augustus. Augustus gave the town a ring of ramparts six kilometres long, reinforced by fourteen towers; two gates remain today: the Porta Augusta and the Porte de France. An aqueduct was built to bring water from the hills to the north.  The amphitheatre dates from the end of the 2nd century AD. The family of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius came from Nemausus.

Many of the myriad of headstones now protected in the Museum of Archaeology from the Roman era

The town was prosperous until the end of the 3rd century and was finally captured from the Romans by the Visigoths in 473 AD.  It went through a lot of back and forthing and different occupations until it finally experiences a second round of prosperity but not until the 17th century.

The fountain in the main square up from the train station

It is now a quaint city of about 50,000 inhabitants, with lots of history and character, but not too busy and not too large.

This belltower and facade are from the Roman times.