Nîmes is a commune in the south of France. It has some remarkably well preserved monuments from the Roman period, such as the “Arènes”, “La Maison Carré” and “La tour Magne”. Its rich past earned it the nickname of “French Rome”. The town has developed around its arms, with its historical centre contained in the interior of an enclosure formed by wide boulevards (located on the ancient medieval ramparts), which are bordered by two lines of trees of over 100 years old, giving the place a pleasant shadow.

The town is known for its principal cultural events and festivities: Flamenco Festival, the European tournament of Archery, Le Temps des Jardins (cultural and musical festival), the Thursdays of Nîmes (open-air evening markets held every year in summer), the Festival of Nîmes, Festival of Jazz and Nimagine (a craft show held for eight days in mid-November)

Constructed at the end of the 1st century after Christ, the amphitheatre of Nîmes is without doubt one of the best preserved in the world, measuring 133m long and 101m wide. Inside, about 25,000 spectators were able to watch fights between animals and gladiators. The Arènes is today, a prestigious place, which is regularly transformed into a big concert hall where both local and international artists perform.

Accommodation in Nîmes' university residences

The university residences in Nîmes are run by various independent groups and most of them offer affordable visitor accommodation in the summer months. It should be understood that these residences are designed primarily for students and not children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, with this in mind, the halls do meet a level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with, and we will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Getting to Nîmes

The highway A9 is one of the major routes connecting the north of Europe to Spain via the valley of Rhône: its two accesses, east and west, favour rapid links with Lyon, Montpellier (and the extensions towards Spain), Toulouse and Bordeaux. The towns of the south, such as Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Nice and Italy are linked by highway A54. The town has direct high-speed train links, and as a result the station of Nîmes is at about 1 hour from Marseille, 1 hour and 20 minutes from Lyon, 2 hours and 50 minutes from Paris, 3 hours and 10 minutes from Geneva or even 4 hours and 40 minutes from Lille. The airport of Nîmes, Alès Camargue Cévennes, provides the only air services of the town. Situated at about 10 km to the south of the town, it regularly receives inbound traffic from London (Luton), Liverpool, East Midlands, and Brussels.

The city gets its name from a spring in the Roman village. The city’s coat of arms includes a crocodile chained to a palm tree with the inscription COLNEM, for Colonia Nemausus, meaning the "colony" of Nemausus, the local Celtic god of the Volcae Arecomici. Veterans of Roman legions, who served Julius Caesar in his Nile campaigns, were given land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes after completing fifteen years of soldiering. The city was located on Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC, connecting Italy to Spain.

The Wars of Gaul and the fall of Marseille in 49 BC allowed the city to regain its autonomy under Rome. It was then Augustus who made the it the capital of Narbonne province, and gave it all its glory: he gave the town a ring of ramparts six kilometres long, reinforced by fourteen towers, of which two gates remain today, the Porta Augusta and the Porte de France. An aqueduct was also built to bring water from the hills in the north. Emperor Constantine endowed the city with baths and it became the seat of the Diocesan Vicar, the chief administrative officer of southern Gaul.

The town was prospering until the end of the 3rd century, but during the 4th and 5th centuries, the nearby Arles enjoyed more success. In the early 5th century the Praetorian Prefecture was moved from Trier Arles and the city was finally captured from the Romans by the Visigoths in 473 AD. After the Gallo-Roman period, in the days of invasion and decadence, the Christian Church, already established in Gaul, appeared to be the last refuge of classical civilization.

However, when the Visigoths were accepted in the Roman Empire, the city was included in their territory in 472. By 725, the Muslim Umayyads had conquered the whole Visigothic territory of Septimania, including Nimes itself. Feudal times in the 12th century brought local troubles, which lasted until the days of St. Louis, but Nîmes still saw significant progress, both in commerce and industry, as well as in stock-breeding. After the last effort by Raymond VII of Toulouse, St. Louis managed to set up royal power in the region, which then became Languedoc. Nîmes thus finally entered into the hands of the King of France. During the 14th and 15th centuries the Rhone Valley experienced an uninterrupted series of invasions, ruining the economy and causing famine. The city, being one of the Protestant strongholds, felt the full force of repression, including the Michelade massacre, which carried on until the middle of the 17th century, through periodic outbreaks of the Plague.

The Revolutionary period instigated great political and religious antagonism: the White Terror added to natural calamities and economic recession and murder, pillage and arson until the early 19th century, but order was eventually restored and Nîmes became the metropolis of Bas-Languedoc, radically reorganising its industry. At the same time the surrounding countryside adapted to market needs and shared in the general increase of wealth.