Nîmes (pronounced as NEEM) is a city in the southern part of France. Several thousand years ago, the city served as an important Roman outpost in the region. Today, it is home to some of the best-preserved monuments from that era.
After having stayed in Toulouse for a couple weekends in a row, I knew I had to get out and explore more of France during my semester abroad. When I found out my friends Hubert, Alvin, and Shaofeng were planning a trip to Nimes this particular weekend, I decided to tag along.
The trip to Nimes was only a few hours by train from Toulouse. We left campus Saturday morning and arrived in Nimes later that afternoon. Taking the train anywhere in the south of France was pretty convenient and was not too expensive either - definitely something I appreciated living in Toulouse.
Shortly after arriving in Nimes, we got ourselves local transporation cards. The plan was to take public transporation to see the Pont-du-Gard, an aqueduct built by the Romans that still stands today just northeast of Nimes. Following a quick lunch, we headed to the bus station and hopped on one that would take us to the Pont-du-Gard. However, after taking the buses as far as we could, passing through small towns and neighborhoods in the countryside, we were eventually dropped off at small bus stop next to the highway. Stranded, we managed to order an Uber to take us the rest of the way.
Our Uber driver was quite surprised to find us standing in what was probably the middle of nowhere. And because we were a captive audience, he figured he'd charge us extra for having a fourth person in the car. We were kind of annoyed by this, but we didn't really have a choice. The Uber driver ended up being hilarious too, speaking to us in broken English and jamming out to music while playing the air guitar on our drive over. Eventually we arrived at the Pont-du-Gard and he gave us his business card in case we wanted a ride back later.
When we finally approached the aqueduct, it was super cool to see in person. The Pont-du-Gard, which translates to "Bridge of the Gard", was originally constructed around the 1st century AD by the Romans to transport water over the Gardon river and into the city of Nimes. At the time, Nimes was an important outpost for the Roman Empire. The Pont-du-Gard is one of several feats of Roman engineering still standing today in and around the city.
To get a closer view, we made our way down to the rocky riverbank beside the aqueduct. We stopped to relax by the water and take some photos, taking advantage of Shaofeng's tripod we nicknamed the "magic stick" to get group pics. Shaofeng also brought a 5 euro bill with us, which featured an aqueduct similar to the Pont-du-Gard on it. So, of course, we had to take some more photos holding up the bill in front of the aqueduct.
We moved slowly along the river, stopping at every new or interesting spot to take more photos - under the bridge, on top of a rock (also under the bridge), and eventually, from the other side of the bridge. At this point in the day it was already late afternoon, so the low sun created a nice "golden-hour" effect on the face of the Pont-du-Gard which I found pretty cool.
There was a trail nearby that led up to the top of a hill, offering a vantage point to view the Pont-du-Gard from above. From here, we headed down another path to walk across the bridge and see the aqueduct from the other side of the river. On the other side of the river, there were some more trails we explored. It was mostly just more trees and rocks, with another viewpoint of the aqueduct, so I didn't take any photos.
There was a museum with some restaurants farther down the main pathway that led to a parking lot, but everything was closed at this point in the day. With nothing left to do in the area, we called our Uber driver from earlier, who was in the middle of eating dinner and was surprisingly enthused when he realized who we were calling him. So, as the sun went down, we walked back across the bridge, embracing one last look at the Pont-du-Gard before getting in the Uber and heading back to Nimes.
We stayed in an Airbnb in the city for the night, and the next day, walked around exploring the city. Our first point of interest was the Maison Carrée, an antique Roman temple that sits in the center of an open plaza. Inside, there is now a small museum with some artifacts and information about the Roman history in Nimes.
After, we walked to the nearby Jardins de la Fontaine. This was an expansive park at the north end of the city that offered botanical gardens, ponds, sculptures, and several Roman ruins. We started near the ponds, where Shaofeng and Alvin had a funny encounter with a swan that was trying to bite their feet.
At the north end of the park stood La Tour Magne, an old watchtower made of stone that was once part of the city walls during Roman occupation. Inside, we climbed a set of spiral stairs to the top, which offered panoramic views out over the entire city.
While we made our way back to the main part of the city for some lunch, we passed down residential side streets and stumbled upon another small ruin (Castellum Aquae). This circular structure once served as a way to divert water coming from a local aqueduct out through different pipelines to supply the city with water. We ate Thai food for lunch, and walked past an old catholic church with an impressive façade (Eglise Sainte Perpétue).
A short walk from the church was probably the most impressive Roman architectural ruin still accessible in Nimes. Standing out from the storefronts that surround it, Arènes de Nîmes, a colosseum-style amphitheatre, serves as one of the most obviously reminants of Roman occupation in the city. While not nearly as large as the one in Rome, this colosseum is one of the most well-preserved Roman amphitheatres left in the world.
We were able to enter inside the colosseum, exploring the tunnels that wrapped around under the seats and walking up and down the old stone terraces that once seated thousands. The city still uses the amphitheatre today to host various events throughout the year. We hung out around the colosseum for a couple hours, just vibing and listening to 2010's pop music, before eventually rushing over to the train station to catch our ride back to Toulouse.
