UNESCO inscribes Maison Carrée of Nîmes as a World Heritage Site

The Maison Carrée in Nîmes is nothing less than the best preserved ancient temple in the world. The French name may translate as ‘Square House’ (in later centuries, people were impressed by its perfect right angles), but when it was built in the years 5-7 AD, it was dedicated to the ‘Princes of Youth’, Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, the grandson and adopted son of the emperor Augustus, both of whom died young.

The temple took pride of place in the city’s ancient heart – its forum. Modelled after Rome’s Temple of Apollo, it measures 26m by 15m, stands at 17m high, and is set atop a 15-step podium. It's built of brilliant white Lens limestone, now once again shining like new after a €3.5m renovation and bringing out the beauty of its elegant Corinthian columns, a deep, ornate portico (pronaos) and a sanctuary (cella) enclosed with solid walls that originally held cult statues of the two deified princes. The pediment still bears the holes where the bronze letters of the dedication were attached.

After the fall of Rome, the locals always found a use for the Maison Carrée, which contributed to its excellent state of preservation, even if at one point it was used as a stable. In 1993, Sir Norman Foster redesigned the square around it and added the Carré d’Art, a contemporary museum and library designed to echo the temple’s design.

Thanks to its excellent condition, the Maison Carrée of Nîmes has been recognised by UNESCO and inscribed onto their World Heritage list. 

But there’s so much more to Nîmes – known as the ‘French Rome’ – and especially how the city developed around its Roman heritage. It was a special favourite of the Romans because (unlike Asterix and Obelix!) the local Volcae Arecomici Gauls had welcomed them with open arms when they were constructing the Italy-to-Spain Via Domitia (118BC), the first Roman road in Gaul.

Colonia Nemausensis (as Nîmes was first named) was also settled by veterans of Julius Caesar’s Nile campaign – hence the city’s crocodile and palm tree symbol. It was named after a spring, worshipped by the Gauls as the god Nemausus

The ruins of the Roman Nymphaeum around the spring were rediscovered in the 18^th-century and incorporated into the Jardins de la Fontaine – nothing less than the first and among the most beautiful public gardens in France. On one end it conserves the romantic ruins of the Temple de Diane – so-called, although no one knows the building’s original purpose; it may have been a library.

A path from the garden winds up to the 32m octagonal Gallo-Roman Tour Magne, said to be the oldest monument in France, built by the Gauls in c. 400BC. Their Romanized descendants enlarge it and added another floor. It was one of 80 towers in the city ramparts, as well as a landmark and (probably) a signal tower. Spiral stairs ascend to the viewing platform. On a clear day you can see Mount Ventoux in Provence.

One of the rarest survivors is the Castellum aquae, where the water transported by the Pont du Gard aqueduct (a World Heritage Site, a half hour away) gushed into a stone tank to be distributed throughout the city via 10 large lead pipes. Yes, even though they had a spring in the middle of town, the fussy Romans preferred the water from the Eure spring, miles away. The only other Castellum to survive intact is in Pompeii.

East of here stands the main city gate on the Via Domitia, the Porte Auguste, built by Augustus, with two large entrances for vehicles and two smaller ones for pedestrians. A bronze statue of Augustus greets visitors at the entrance.

Last but hardly least of Nîmes’s Roman monuments is the Arènes. At 130 by 100m, this is the 20^th largest Roman amphitheatre in the world but one of the best preserved, again because like the Maison Carrée, it was always in use –  as a castle and later as a slum. When the restorers arrived in 1809, they had to shovel down six metres to find the floor. Where gladiators once performed for 23,000, the Arènes is now used for sporting events, concerts and controversially, but in the spirit of the amphitheatre’s original purpose – bullfights

Need to know

Location: Nîmes is the Occitanie region in the south of France.

Getting there: Nîmes has a small airport, with seasonal connections on Ryanair from London Stansted. easyJet fly from Gatwick to nearby Montpellier; otherwise the nearest airport served year-round by British Airways, Ryan Air and easyJet is in Marseille, an hour away by train. Trains from London St Pancras to Nîmes via Paris take just over seven hours.

Getting around: Once you get to Nîmes, all the main sights are in easy walking distance.

Accommodation: The five-star Maison Albar Hotels L’Imperator is in the centre, with a beautiful garden, rooftop pool and the city’s best restaurant. The central St-Margaret Hotel Choleur is an elegant townhouse, also with a garden and exceptional restaurant. If driving, the Bien Loin d’Ici Ecolodges, immersed in gardens 4km north of Nîmes, make a peaceful alternative.

More information: Nîmes Tourist Office. 

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