A Daytrip to the Arena of Nîmes Amphitheater
Arena of Nîmes in France
France Road Trip to Nîmes
Montpellier to Nîmes
After five nights in Barcelona, it was time to move on. A six-hour bus ride out of Spain took us to Montpellier, France where we had arranged another car rental.
The bus dropped us off outside the airport as it was temporarily off-limits for security reasons due to a "luggage left unattended alert" which was slightly alarming.
Di and Morten at the Arena of Nîmes Amphitheater
We had a short drive through a delta region to the seaside town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer where we stayed at a quaint little hotel for one night. It was good to be on the road again and the late afternoon sun enhanced the beautiful scenery as we neared the coast.
We splurged on dinner. Di and Emma shared a Moules-Frites and I had a menu including a bowl of wonderful fish soup and salmon. A very pleasant way to wrap up our first day on the road.
Diana and Emma outside the Arena of Nimes
Arena of Nîmes and Maison Carrée
The next morning we set the GPS for Nîmes and the famous arena. The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater built in 70 AD, around the same time as the Colosseum in Rome.
The self-guided audio tour was very entertaining with audio clips of gladiator fights and roaring crowds. Today the arena is one of the best-preserved Roman arenas and is used for live entertainment. I first heard of it back in 1992, when Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits recorded a live concert here.
Di and Emaa sitting on the front steps of Maison Carrée in Nimes, France
Nîmes had more to offer. The town center with the Maison Carrée Roman temple was amazing and so was the coffee and huge ice cream we enjoyed in one of the town squares before heading out of town, towards Aix en Provence.
A young couple sitting by Maison Carrée in Nimes, France
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The photos in this article are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro2. Lenses: XF 14mm f/2.8 R - XF 23mm f/1.4 R - XF 35mm f/2 R WR - XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Lightroom and I have made use of Fujifilm film simulations in some of the photos.
