Car Hire in Nimes, France
On the border linking Provence and Languedoc, the name of
NIMES is inescapably associated with two things - denim and Rome. The latter's influence is remarkably visible in some of the most extensive Roman remains in Europe, while the former ( de Nimes ), quite as visible about the backsides of the populace, was first created in the city's textile mills, and exported to the southern area of USA on the 19th century to clothe slaves. It's worth a visit, in part for the ruins and, at present, for the city's new-found energy and direction, enlisting the expertise of a galaxy of architects and designers - including Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel and Philippe Starck - in a bid to wrest southern supremacy from nearby Montpellier.
The majority of what you might want to set eyes on is included throughout the boulevards de la Libération, Amiral-Courbet, Gambetta and Victor-Hugo, then there is much pleasure to be enjoyed from just wandering the narrow lanes that they enclose, exploring sudden squares with their fountains and cafés. The point of interest of the city, the first-century Roman arena, termed
Les Arènes (open daily: July & Aug 9am-6.30pm; rest of year 9am-noon & 2-5pm; closed during special events), lies at the junction of boulevards de la Libération and Victor-Hugo. Some of the best-preserved Roman arenas are everywhere, its arcaded two-storey facade conceals massive interior vaulting, full of corridors and supporting raked tiers of seats which has a capacity of greater than 20,000 viewers, whose staple fare was the blood and guts of gladiatorial combat. When Rome's sway was broken by the barbarian invasions, the arena became a fortress and gradually a slum, the place to find an exceptional 2000 people when it was cleared during the early 1800s. These days it has reinstituted something of its former role, aided by the enthusiastic summer crowds still turning out for some real-life blood-letting - Nimes is the premier European bullfighting scenario apart from Spain.
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