Aix-en-Provence to Nimes

October 22, 2018

Moving to the west side of the Rhone river.

Our bus departed for Nimes at noon today so we were not in a hurry on this cloudy morning. Lots of time for the patisserie stop even though it's a bus ride!! The trip was about 1.5 hours so we were in Nimes in plenty of time for a nice afternoon walk about.

One of Aix's new bus stations. This one also has a major elevated park and ride lot built right beside it.

Pat riding toward the old town of Nimes along Avenue Feucheres.

The bus transportation worked very well. We arrived early and prepared our bikes for tansport. The bus was slightly late but it arrived in Nimes early. It was an uneventful short 3 km ride to our hotel. We checked in and it was time to see the sights.

Nimes is dominated by a perfectly preserved Roman amphitheatre. Inspired by the Coliseum in Rome with two stories of vaulted arches, this is one of the most intact amphitheatres to be found anywhere in the world today. It has seating capacity for an amazing 20,000 people.

I took many pictures of the Amphitheatre of Nîmes. This pictures shows five sections that have been completely restored.

Here are five sections that nicely demonstrate an older patina.

Two top sections up close. This is a wonderful old structure with a rich history. Nimes is lucky to have such a specimin still largely intact. This is largely due to restoration work being completed in the 1800's up to today.

A wonderful picture of the Amphitheatre in the evening sun.

Next up was La Maison Carrée. Built around 16 BC, it is one of the best-preserved Roman temples in the world. Nimes provides some of the finest examples of Roman historical construction in France, if not the world.

La Maison Carrée built in the very early first century is one of the only Roman temples to be completely preserved'

Some pillar and roof detail of La Maison Carrée.

Pat by a pillar of the Maison Carrée. (Showing scale).

But the light was beginning to fade and when dinner hour finally arrived we found ourselves at a resaurant named La Madeleine. We enjoyed a wonderful salad and a plate of linquine full of pesto and clams. It was a perfect meal and we headed back to our room and called it a night.

The bell tower of Eglise Saint Paul built in the early 1800's. Not Roman but still impressive.

The logo of Nimes city. The design comes from an old Roman coin, which was minted in Nîmes between 28 BC and 15 AD to commemorate Augustus’ victory in the battle of Actium in Egypt in 31 BC. This is an old city.

Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 853 km (530 miles)

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