South of France, but not as we know it: exploring Nîmes and the Gard
20.05.2024 - 12:51
/ theguardian.com
/ Julius Caesar
/ But Not
The director of a newly refurbished boutique hotel in the old town of Nîmes tells me he has gained and lost a star recently. The hotel’s restaurant, Rouge, run by Benin-born chef Georgiana Viou, recently won its first Michelin star. But the hotel itself, the Margaret Chouleur, has been downgraded from a five-star to just four.
Here’s the interesting thing: it was the hotel that did the downgrading. The top-level rating was putting people off, so it has been reclassified as a four-star.
It’s a very Nîmes move. With the Côte d’Azur to its east and arty, chic Arles its nearest neighbour, Nîmes flies just below many tourists’ radar and sits firmly in the good-value category.
Nîmes was first valued by Gaul tribes for its natural springs, but made its fortune in the heyday of ancient Rome. Julius Caesar rewarded his Gaul campaigners with land in the area, and so began a long tradition of welcoming wealthy retirees. The campaigners and their successors spent lavishly on the city, which was a handy waypoint between Rome and its Hispanic provinces.
Today, this southern French town of 150,000 inhabitants is easily reachable from more distant Britannic regions by Eurostar and TGV. Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department, a land of walled cities, and a centre of Protestantism (first tolerated, then cruelly suppressed in the wars of religion and the counter-reformation). The Gard towns’ prosperity waxed and waned either side of the 1789 revolution. And it still does.
I’ve come to explore some of them, based in Nîmes for a couple of days, then following the points of the compass: 30 minutes (more or less) north to Uzès, east to Beaucaire, south to Aigues-Mortes and west to Sommières (all are cheaply reachable by train or bus but to follow the route without going back to Nîmes every time, you’ll need your own wheels).
Nîmes is feeling good about itself as its Roman temple, the Maison Carrée was added to Unesco’s world heritage sites list last year. It’s frankly surprising it hadn’t made the list before. It and Nîmes’s amphitheatre are two of the finest Roman buildings outside Rome itself (the nearby Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct made the list in 1985). The shield-shaped medieval centre already feels like a protected area, with independent restaurants, bakers and specialist shops selling everything from board games to brandade, the dried cod paste that’s a local speciality. It’s a delightful place to wander; Les Halles de Nîmes (the food market) and Gamel restaurant (in a tiny square, offering a twist on the southern French classics) are among my favourite foodie discoveries.
Added to the city’s allure this year is an exciting new triennial art festival, La Contemporaine de Nîmes, held around the city in public and