Arènes de Nîmes

Nîmes

Begun at the end of the first century — a coin struck around 88–89 was found in its foundations — and completed before 130, the amphitheatre of Nemausus could hold some 24,000 spectators. If it has come down to us almost intact, it owes this to its second life. After the games ended, the Visigoths made it a fortress; in the Middle Ages it became a castle, the castrum of the Arena, defended by the viscount of Nîmes's "knights of the Arena", and a whole quarter grew up inside it, with its two chapels, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre. The City of Nîmes speaks of about a hundred dwellings and more than seven hundred inhabitants from the fourteenth century onwards; in 1785 there were still 57 houses, shops and wine cellars under the arcades, and 86 inside the monument itself. The clearance, begun at the end of the eighteenth century, was completed in 1812 according to some, in 1813 according to the City. The amphitheatre was listed as a historic monument in 1840.

Getting there : Open every day year-round, paid entry; closed on performance days.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound