Level walk, no climbs

Nîmes-Centre Station

Welcome to Nîmes. You are at Nîmes-Centre station, at 1 boulevard Sergent-Triaire, in the south of the city. This is the starting point of our tours.

170 m to the next stop

Avenue Feuchères

Here you are on avenue Feuchères, the grand avenue linking the station to the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle. In 1841, the Nîmes town council decided to lay out both this avenue and the esplanade, and the work was completed in 1851. The avenue thus gives travellers a stately entrance to the city: as you leave the station, you walk straight up towards the Pradier fountain and the Arena.

360 m to the next stop

Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle

Here you are on the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, between the railway station and the Arena, at the end of avenue Feuchères. This space has a long history. In the sixteenth century, the consul Jacques d’Albenas created a square here for artillery drills and official receptions.

30 m to the next stop

Pradier Fountain

Here you are in front of the Pradier fountain, in the centre of the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle. It was inaugurated on 1 June 1851. We owe it to two men: the architect Charles Questel and the sculptor James Pradier.

360 m to the next stop

Nîmes Arena

Here you are in front of the Nîmes Arena, a Roman amphitheatre built around 90 AD, probably during the reign of Domitian. The ellipse measures about 133 metres by 101, and stands 21 metres high. The façade lines up 60 arches on each of its two levels.

290 m to the next stop

Musée de la Romanité

Here you are in front of the Museum of Roman History, the Musée de la Romanité, facing the Arena. Opened on 2 June 2018, it was designed by the architect Elizabeth de Portzamparc. Look at its façade: a pleated glass drape whose blades recall a mosaic, answering the stone arches of the amphitheatre.

660 m to the next stop

Maison Carrée

Here you are in front of the Maison Carrée, a Roman temple built during the reign of Augustus and completed around the years 2 and 3 AD. It is one of the best preserved Roman temples. It was dedicated to Gaius and Lucius Caesar, the adopted sons of Augustus, known as the princes of youth.

110 m to the next stop

Carré d’Art

Here you are in front of the Carré d’Art, facing the Maison Carrée. This building of glass, concrete and steel is the work of the British architect Norman Foster. He won the 1984 international competition against rivals such as Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Arata Isozaki and César Pelli.

300 m to the next stop

Quai de la Fontaine

You are on the quai de la Fontaine, alongside the canal that flows from the Jardins de la Fontaine. It all began in 1738: the city wanted to improve its water supply and decided, on 19 July, to have the basin of the spring dug out and cleaned. The works, directed from 1739 by the engineer Jean de Clapiès, uncovered major Roman remains: a sanctuary dedicated to Augustus, a portico around a pool, and a theatre.