If I love something about France, it is that you can see its history and influence of other cultures reflected in its architecture. Although I had already mentioned in my Nice article about that Italian footprint of the buildings of the old town, in this article, I would like to highlight two cities that I loved and where fortunately you can still appreciate the heritage of the Roman Empire.
We visited these cities on a day trip, because we were staying in Aix-en-Provence, but they are so beautiful that when we saw them, we immediately regretted not having spent at least one night in each one, especially considering that we had the time to do so, because in addition to the cultural side, they had some very cool streets full of restaurants and bars. Of course, what I am telling you was before the pandemic, we will have to see how everything will be afterwards.
Arles
One of the places that impressed me the most was the Arles Amphitheatre with its more than 120 arches. An amphitheatre built between 80-90 AD, that looks a bit like the Colosseum in Rome, because it was built a short time later. It has a capacity for more than 20,000 people, it is a UNESCO heritage site and it was once a gladiator battlefield that is now used for bullfights and cultural events.
There is also a Roman theatre, which dates back to the 1st century and was one of the first theatres of the Roman Empire in the world to be built in stone, with a capacity for 10,000 spectators and which is also still used for cultural events. The city has more important Roman constructions such as the Baths of Constantine, the Cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps necropolis and the Church of St. Trophime.
It is worth mentioning, that if you are a fan of Van Gogh, you will undoubtedly have to visit this beautiful city that appears in many of his works, since he lived there for more than a year. The Tourist Office itself has designed a route for you to follow his trail. In fact, it was in this city where, after a psychotic episode, he cut off his ear to give it to a prostitute, and was later admitted to the hospital. For me, this is reason enough to return to Arles.
Nimes
The Amphitheatre of Nimes is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world, and like in the other towns, it was built more or less during the same period. It was built with a capacity for more than 20,000 spectators who came to watch animal and gladiator fights. Like the one in Arles, it is still used for cultural events and bullfights. Can you believe that in the Middle Ages, it served as a fortress and later its arena was occupied by houses?
The temple Maison Carrée is another monument that stands imperiously, in perfect condition, in the middle of the square that bears the same name. Built in honor of Gaius Caesar and Lucio Caesar, it was part of the administrative and economic center of the city. The building is truly impressive, measuring 26 meters long, 17 high and 15 wide. Right in front of the square, you can see the Carré d’Art Jean Bousquet, designed by none other than the renowned architect Norman Foster, which serves as a library, media library and museum. As you can imagine, this contrast of architectural styles is quite interesting.
As soon as you start crossing the alleys and squares of Nimes, you realize that it is a city worth spending a little more time in. We were very struck by the Place du Marché (which reminded me of the squares in Malaga) and the surrounding streets, full of lovely places to spend the afternoon eating and drinking wine. We didn’t get to see much more, but we did get a quick glimpse of the Jardin de la Fontaine.
Bonus point: Pont du Gard in Remoulins
I have a fascination for bridges, so I can’t help but recommend you to visit the famous Pont du Gard, which was built around 50 AD and served as an aqueduct to supply water to Nimes. It is 50 meters high and 275 meters long. It is absolutely beautiful, very exciting to see and walk through it.
I don’t want to say goodbye without advising you to calculate well the hours and what you are going to see each day, because the towns close everything very early. Our plan was to have dinner in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (especially because we wanted to taste the wines there), thinking that everything would be open late, as such we saturated the day with activities. When we arrived shortly before 9:00 pm at night, to our surprise everything was closed, there were still diners in the restaurants but no one was accepting people. We saw several tourists just like us, all very confused, because it was actually not that late to still have dinner. So since we were starving, we ended up having dinner at a McDonald’s, the only place open at that time (9:00 pm).
In general, if you travel to the south of France, although the country has a great train system, I advise you to see the option of renting a car for at least a few days, so that you can move freely between the villages, the beaches or the flower fields.
If you want to travel to France and have your trip designed and organized through our travel agency Tripdreaming, please contact me at silvia.lucero@tripdreaming.com.
For editorial questions, please contact me at silvia.lucero@latrotamundos.com.
