Nîmes is located in the south of France at the border of Provence and Languedoc regions. Nîmes pronounced (neem) in French is the capital of the Gard Department in the Languedoc Roussillion Region between the Mediterranean sea and the Cévennes mountains.
Nîmes is a city famous for its intact Roman vestiges such as the Arènnes (amphitheater), the Maison Carrée (Square House) or the Pont du Gard (Gard Bridge) and more.
To me the word Nîmes means the first place I’ve ever been without my mother. When I was eight years old, an older cousin of mine took me to Nîmes to spend a week vacationing with her. I remember laughing a lot by day and crying a lot by night, because that’s when I needed my mom. I had never been over night anywhere without my mother, and certainly not for a long week.
Nîmes also evoke a beautiful city with a huge amphitheater in the middle and lots of sun. If you love history, beautiful weather and beautiful ancient architecture you need to go visit Nîmes .
Les Arènnes (the Amphitheater)
The amphitheater that you see in the picture above dates from the 1st century and is one of the most preserved in the world. The amphitheater is 133 meters long (about 500 feet) 101 meters wide (about 300 feet) and 21 meters high (about 70 feet). It is one of the most visited vestige of France.
La Maison Carrée (the Square House)
The Square House is a Roman temple that was built between 4 and 5 AC. It has a Greek influence that is rather obvious, though. This building is in an exceptional state of preservation.
On this picture of mine the stones are blacken by dirt and time, but the building has been cleaned up since.
Le Pont du Gard ( the Bridge of the Gard)
Le Pont du Gard is a Roman aqueduct bridge accross the Gard river. The bridge has 3 levels and while being maintained in good shape it’s also in excellent condition. The bridge has been classified a historic monument and world heritage by UNESCO.
The bridge is 50 km long (31 miles) and 48 meters high (160 feet). The bridge was built in the first century AD.
Les Jardins de la Fountaine (the Fountain Gardens)
The Fountain Gardens date from the 18th century and was one of the first public gardens in Europe. The style of the garden has English and Italian influences.
Origin of the Denim
Nîmes is the city where the fabic called “denim” in English comes from. From Nîmes (de Nîmes ) in French became denim. Nîmes was an important textile producer.
I have to admit I never heard of this city before so thanks for bringing me into this new place! The fountain gardens look really beautiful and I’m sure they’re amazing in person. Looks like the kind of place I could bring a laptop and spend a long time writing my blog posts in peace 🙂
I also love the trivia about denim! I never even thought to ask where it came from but it’s really fun to know. I love trivia like that so I’ll probably spend the next few weeks asking everyone I know, “Hey, do you know where the word denim comes from?” And they will be very impressed 🙂
Today I’m sitting in a stuffy room in NY where it’s humid and pouring rain so I appreciated this lovely little trip to a beautiful place. It’s giving me something to daydream about!
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Hi Carol,
I can always count on you to appreciate my posts and it really makes me feel good every time 🙂 I guess we appreciate each other 🙂
I thought that the denim story would be interesting, especially here in the US. When I first heard that word “denim” in the US it was where I am now in North Carolina and I didn’t even know what the guy was talking about. It’s funny that you call this “de Nime” when in France we call it “jean” or “blue jean”. LOL. What a crazy world!
Hi Sylviane,
I’ve never heard of this place before but I’m glad you told me about it. Just so you know, one of the biggest dreams I have today is to travel around Europe. That’s one thing I haven’t done yet.
Nimes is beautiful! Lots of amazing history in it as well. I’m definitely writing this down as a place to go.
Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
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When you decide to pack up and travel through Europe you are going to LOVE it, I can assure you that. By checking travel blogs you can learn some precious tips for this.
Thank for coming by, Pj 🙂
Hi Sylviane
I am glad I am not the only one here who had not heard of Nimes.
Isn’t it amazing that those childhood memories stay with us. It must have been difficult to have that long away from your Mother when you had never had a sleep over before.
The pictures are gorgeous and as I have said to you before I love the beautiful old buildings in Europe.
Thanks Sylviane for teaching us about the country you grew up in.
Sue
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Hi Sue,
It’s not surprising that lot’s of people from the US or Australia haven’t heard about Nîmes and that’s why I’m writing this summer post series. People hear about Paris all the time, but there is so much more to France.
Thanks for coming.
Hey Sylviane,
I’m not one of those people who likes to look at antiques or museums. I’m really to get in and out as quickly as possible, not slowly looking and checking everything out. But I have a feeling if I were to visit Nimes, I might have a change of heart.
Some of the structures there are just magnificent and probably definitely worth taking my time to check them out.
You always share so many wonderful places with us and I have no doubt that every single place you can visit in France is amazing. At least we get to see a lot of it through your eyes so thank you for that.
~Adrienne
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I’m like you when it comes to museums, Adrienne. I am not the kind to stay in a museum for hours to look at all stuff and I think I’ve got after my mother for that 🙂
But looking at all buildings it’s completley different, that I do like a lot and I am sure you’d like it too. I love to look at an old buildings which were here way, way before anyone standing and alive today. It’s really cool 🙂
Sylviane,
I’m just fascinated with roman Aquaducts.And i loved this little fact about the origin of denim coming from “de Nimes”.
I wonder if i will get to visit Nimes? It’s such a popular destination and it’s been on my husbands list of places to visit but so have about 100 other places too.
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Hi Annie,
Yes, it’s hard to do it all. You’ve got to make some choices. Unless you stay long enough or come back to see one new city or town every time, until you guys saw them all 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
finally a city I’ve already been to a couple of times, and always worth a visit ! Many people refer Nîmes to the Provence which is actually not correct of course, as you note, because it’s located in the Languedoc. We love the department of Gard because we spent our vacation many times there, about 30 km north of Nîmes, vers Quissac.
Thanks for sharing !
Be blessed
Oliver
Hi Oliver,
Nice to see you again. I guess people who refer to Nîmes as being part of Provence are the one who are not familiar with the region, that’s why it’s always good to clarify, right ? 🙂
Hi Richa and welcome to my blog. I hope you will make the trip one day. It’s only a plan ticket away 🙂
Thanks for coming and for your feedbacks.
Hi Sylviane! Thanks for the splendid tour 🙂 I’m an avid fan historical sites as well as rich cultures and traditions. I’m glad Nimes withstood the test of time with all these historical landmarks still intact. Beautiful.
Thanks for yet another captivating share 🙂 France boasts of so much elegance and a remarkable history, I can’t wait to visit your country!