Nimes, Near Perfect Vacation City?

Nimes, France is filled with interesting places to go, pretty, vibrant, friendly and compact. On top of that we are in an ideal location. We are in a maze of streets interspersed with homes and businesses, but not a lot of auto traffic. Many of the streets surrounding us are pedestrian only because we are in the old part of the city. Most of the streets in the old area (and it is a large area) are smooth stones slats, not pavement. Oh, and Nimes has a great climate. We plan to be gone before the real hot weather hits in June sometime. It is up to 69 degrees today, up as high as 85 for much of the next week. We’ve been told the winters rarely have snow and are never really cold. Summers are reported to be very hot though.

We are amazed at how many people are out on the streets at all hours of the day. Some are tourists, even though Nimes is not a heavily touristed area, a lot are school kids on field trips (it appears that much of the learning is outside the classroom), and then there are huge numbers of French people lounging, sitting and talking at the abundance of sidewalk, patio and smack dab in the middle of the street seating areas like the picture below. We do not go far before seeing another group of  kids on a field trip. Below is a picture of kids on a field trip entering the Temple of Diane, the hunting goddess. Appears to be more leisure time here, hmmmm……

This morning, Sheila and I went on a field trip, Jardins de la Fontaine. It is an area where Nimes was first inhabited in 6th century BC near a sacred spring. First century B.C. the Romans showed up and began transforming the area with their construction. Much of what these photos show was constructed in the Roman period. The story continues that it was rediscovered in the 18th century and formal gardens were built around the archaeological remains. Later 19th century gardens were developed in English and Italian styles. Pictures of the canal and the entrance are below.

Among the main attractions in this large and magnificent park are Temple de Diana and Tout Magne, both from the early Roman era. Temple of Diane is a 1st century ruin that is well conserved on the inside allowing the viewer to appreciate its ornamental complexity. Posted below are 4 views including the garden area. The earlier picture of kids on a field trip is also of this temple.

That brings us to Tour Magne, a part of the protective walls that ran for 6 kilometers around the city. If you are willing to pay 9 euros you receive the privilege of walking up a winding flight of 140 stairs, that is after climbing up through the gardens to get there.

Next are views from the top of the tower. The one from the inside is from a point where I am already about halfway down. For your added enjoyment is an artfully constructed old bench.

Today we discovered we are two blocks away from 3 fresh fish stores, butchers, cheese shops, produce and other food shops. It is like a fancy upscale Mexican market. Still, a large plank of salmon cost us less than 6 euros today. We prepared a wonderful meal of the salmon, roasted vegetables and arugula salad. It was the best meal we have made in a while. We are well situated to continue our cooking with fresh ingredients.

Onto more Roman influenced viewing tomorrow, but for now that is it. One last side note, our apartment is on a third floor at the top of 58 winding stairs.