Nimes holidays

How to reach Nimes

Flight time: Flights to Nimes from London take about 2 hours, as they do from other UK airports.

Transfer time: From Nimes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport, 8km south of the city, the easiest way to reach the city centre is by navette (shuttle bus), which takes about 20 minutes. Taxis are also available and take around the same time.

Price:

• A shuttle bus ticket costs approximately €6 one-way.

• Taxis from the airport to the city centre cost around €25-€30.

Best time to visit Nimes

Deciding on when to book your trip to Nimes will depend on how much you like the heat and crowds of summer, or whether you would prefer a more laid-back trip out of season.

March to May:

• Spring is a lovely time for your Nimes holidays.

• You’ll avoid the worst of the high-season traffic and you should also more or less have your pick of accommodation, which will generally still be available at low-season prices.

• The weather is mild, with temperatures ranging from 10°C to 20°C and you can expect 8-10 hours of sunshine daily.

June to August:

• Summer is the peak tourist season when you can count on long opening hours and the widest selection of hotels and restaurants - albeit with larger crowds - but if you want to experience the Nimes Feria, a major French cultural event, this is the time to come.

• Temperatures range from 20°C to 30°C, with about 11-13 hours of sunshine daily.

September to November:

• The best time to visit Nimes is during the shoulder season (September and October), which offers a balance between tranquillity and action.

• It’s still warm, with temperatures from 10°C to 25°C and lots of sunshine, around 7-9 hours daily, although violent rainstorms often punctuate the region.

December to February:

• Winter in Nimes is mild compared to the UK, with average temperatures ranging from 5°C to 15°C.

• Rainfall is around 50-80mm per month, with 5-7 hours of sunshine daily.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: French is the official language in Nimes, although being close to the border with Spain means that Spanish/Catalan is widely spoken, as is English.

• Local habits and customs: At restaurants you only need to leave an additional cash tip if you feel you have received service out of the ordinary, since restaurant prices always include a service charge.

• Currency: The Euro (€) is the currency used. ATMs are widely available, and credit cards are accepted in most places.

• Getting around: There’s no obvious need to use public transport in Nimes, such is its compactness, but it does have an efficient public transport system. A single bus ticket costs about €1.80.

• Electricity and plug types: Voltage is officially 230V, using plugs with two round pins. UK travellers will need an adaptor.

• Time zone: Nimes is in the Central European Time zone (CET), which is 1 hour ahead of GMT. Daylight Saving Time is observed.

Best things to do in Nimes

Nîmes is Languedoc’s most revitalised city – chock-full of the region’s outstanding Roman monuments, it is also a showcase for its most exciting new architecture.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• La Tour Magne: This watchtower, based on an earlier Celtic structure, dates from about 15 BC and is still the best place from which to survey Nîmes and its surroundings.

The best districts.

• Quartier des Antiquaires: The city’s artisanal district is packed cheek-by-jowl with antique shops and art galleries, a great place for a spot of treasure hunting.

Museums

• Musée de la Romanité: Over four floors, and incorporating a Roman road in the garden, the museum tells the story of Nîmes' Roman history over 25 centuries via four themes.

• Musée des Cultures Taurines: Even if you don’t want to see a matador in action, you might like to check out the Musée des Cultures Taurines, which explores the significance of the bull to local life.

Parks and gardens

• Jardin de la Fontaine: This formal 18th-century garden with a complex series of fountains and pools, at the foot of forested Mont Cavalier, was the first public garden in France.

Historical monuments

• Les Arènes: Once the scene of gladiatorial combats, this 20,000-seat amphitheatre still functions after 2,000 years.

• Maison Carrée: A tiny but perfectly proportioned temple, once the centrepiece of the city’s forum, it is perhaps the world’s best-preserved Roman temple.

• Temple of Diana: Originally a nymphaeum, a sacred fountain dedicated to Nemausus (the god of the spring), the shambolic ruins of the “Temple of Diana” give you an impression of the scale of the building in Roman times.

Day trips in the area

• Pont du Gard: 2,000 years old and still sublimely graceful, this towering Roman aqueduct just a short drive from Nimes spans the Gard River a few kilometres west of the Rhône.

• Aigues-Mortes: A picture-perfect medieval walled town, set among the swamps and dunes of the Mediterranean coast.

• Abbaye de St-Roman: An underground monastery cut from the living rock, tucked away in the hills above the Rhône. The monastery’s terrace offers a sensational, sweeping panorama of the Rhône.

Activities for families in Nimes

For a relatively small city, Nimes packs in an awful lot for families, including a terrific selection of historical sites, mostly of the Roman variety, but there are plenty more active-minded pursuits available too.

• Waterparks: Némausa is a first-rate Olympic-size pool, while a more fun place to take the kids is Parc Aquatropic, a water park with indoor and outdoor pools and a spa near the Nîmes-Ouest autoroute exit.

• Historical monuments and sites: Les Arènes is sure to wow every member of the family, young or old, and in July and August there are daily guided tours (no booking required) when the amphitheatre is open.

• Museums: Kid-friendly museums abound in Nimes, especially the Musée du Vieux Nîmes, whose lively collection focused on the city’s artisanal and industrial past will appeal to both adults and children, as will the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, whose hotchpotch of stuffed animals includes a Royal Bengal Tiger.

Free things to do in Nimes

With festivals galore, some splendid (and unusual) architecture to check out and all kinds of opportunities for browsing the local markets, holidays to Nimes can be as cheap as you want to make them.

• Admire the architecture: Through the mid-1980s and 1990s Nîmes embarked on an audacious project of urban renewal, and while these new buildings – Nîmes’ modern pride – vary in originality and effect, they’re fun to explore.

• Festivals: Festivals are important here, and invariably entail tauromachie – bullfighting, bull games and horsemanship, both Camarguais and Spanish-style. A good time to visit is during the grands jeux Romains in early May, a weekend re-enactment of Roman games, with some free events.

• Visit the markets: The Les Halles market is a lively place to explore, especially on market days.

Nature and outdoor activities

The area beyond the city is one big playground, and whether you just fancy a paddle down the Rhône or want to observe wildlife, spending time in the countryside is integral to enjoying holidays to Nimes.

• Cycling: For city cycling, Vélo TANGO at the gare SNCF has regular bikes and electric bikes for rent. Better still is the 22km voie verte trail to Sommières from Caveirac, 11km west of Nîmes, which you can access by bike along busy roads from the city.

• Nature reserves: The Camargue Gardoise, formerly known as the “Petite Camargue”, is an open expanse of saltpans and marshes, populated by horses, bulls and birdlife, while the Étang de Thau is a protected area known for its rich biodiversity, which includes some fantastic birdlife.

• Water sports: The nearby Rhône River is blessed with all kinds of opportunities for watery pursuits, among them kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP).

Local dishes in Nimes

Three culinary traditions – Spanish, gastronomique and, of course, Gardois terroir – dominate Nîmes’ restaurants, with Indian and North African establishments adding a cosmopolitan flavour.

Some typical dishes

• Tielle: A speciality from nearby Sète is tielle, a spicy octopus pie - possibly the most unusual pie in the world - embellished with tomato sauce.

• Black truffles: Among the most desirable natural products in the world, just modest quantities of black truffle can raise a pasta, rice, egg or meat dish from quotidien to extraordinaire.

Meat dishes

• Gardiane de Taureau: One for committed carnivores, this traditional Camargue dish comprises bull meat, red wine and herbs.

• Gigot d’Agneau: Roast leg of lamb seasoned with garlic and rosemary served with ratatouille or gratin dauphinois.

Fish and seafood dishes

• Bouillabaisse: Fishermen’s stew from Marseille is the superstar of the coast’s seafood dishes – at its best it’s utterly delicious.

• Moules Marinières: Fresh mussels cooked in white wine, garlic and parsley. Simple yet oh so delicious.

Street food

• Socca: Chickpea flour pancake that’s crispy on the outside and soft inside.

• Pain fougasse: A finger-shaped bread that may contain olives, anchovies, sausage, cheese or bacon.

Sweets and desserts

Croquants Villaret are crunchy almond biscuits that pair beautifully with an espresso, while canelés are small, caramelised cakes with a soft, custardy interior flavoured with vanilla and rum.

Local drinks

• Noilly Prat: Pronounced “nwah-lee prah” this vermouth, created in 1813 with white Languedoc wine, is aged in vats for eight months, and then for a further year outdoors in oaken barrels.

• Pastis: The generic name of aniseed drinks such as Pernod or Ricard and a favourite throughout Languedoc, this is served diluted with water and ice (glaçons).