The manager of a newly renovated boutique hotel in the old town of Nîmes told me that he had recently gained and lost a star. The hotel’s restaurant, Rouge, run by Benin-born chef Georgiana Viou, recently earned its first Michelin star. However, the rating of the hotel itself, Margaret Chouleur, was downgraded from five stars to four stars.
The interesting thing is this: It was the hotel that made the downgrade. The top rating was making people uncomfortable, so it was reclassified to four stars.
This is a very Nîmes move. With the Côte d’Azur to the east and the glitzy, stylish Arles as its nearest neighbour, Nîmes flies just under the radar for many tourists and sits firmly in the good-value category.
Nîmes was first valued by Gallic tribes for its natural resources, but made its fortune during the heyday of ancient Rome. Julius Caesar rewarded his Gallic warriors with lands in the region, thus beginning the tradition of hosting wealthy retirees. Campaigners and their successors lavished money on the city, which became a useful transit point between Rome and the Spanish provinces.
Nîmes is feeling good after its Roman temple was added to Unesco’s world heritage list last year
Today, this southern French town of 150,000 is easily reached by Eurostar and TGV from further afield Britain. Nîmes is the capital of the Gard region, a group of walled cities, and the center of Protestantism (at first tolerated, then brutally suppressed by religious wars and counter-reformation). The prosperity of the Gard towns waxed and waned on both sides of the 1789 revolution. And it still is.
I came to discover some of these, being in Nîmes for a few days, then following the signs of the compass: 30 minutes (more or less) north to Uzès, east to Beaucaire, south to Aigues-Mortes and west to Uzès. Sommières (can be reached cheaply by train or bus, but you’ll need your own wheels to follow the route without returning to Nîmes each time).
Nîmes is feeling good after the Roman temple Maison Carrée was added to Unesco’s world heritage list last year. Frankly, it’s surprising that it hasn’t made the list before. It and Nîmes’ amphitheater are two of the finest Roman structures outside Rome (the nearby Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct was listed in 1985). The shield-shaped medieval center already appears to be a protected area, with independent restaurants, bakers and specialist shops selling everything from board games to sundries. Brenda, dried cod paste, a local specialty. A great place to visit; Les Halles de Nîmes (food market) and Gamel restaurant (offering a twist on southern French classics in a small square) are among my favorite food discoveries.
Adding to the city’s appeal this year is La Contemporaine de Nîmes, an exciting new triennial arts festival, taking place in public and museum spaces across the city (until 23 June). From performance art to sculpture, dozens of established and new artists from France and other countries will feature works with the theme of “a new youth”.
The best thing is that denim returns to its birthplace after a century. The town museum tells the history of the durable material that the town’s weavers began to supply to the bourgeoisie and rural workers in the 18th century. Serge also traveled to Nîmes, Manchester and the USA and saw his name adapted to the production of “denim”. In 2020, a local entrepreneur founded Ateliers de Nîmes to start producing jeans in the town again.
Leaving Nîmes, I head north first to Uzès, which is closest to the Gard’s Provençal honeypots like Saint-Paul de Vence, with its cramped medieval streets popular with famous homeowners. But there is still good value to be had. Rooms at the beautiful and cozy Hôtel Entraigues (no restaurant, but a pool and a wonderful private roof terrace) B&B start from €130.
Once the locals start arriving, L’Uzès takes on the atmosphere of serious hedonism that is the mark of a true French bistro.
There is a market twice a week on Place aux Herbes. Once you’ve cleared up the clothing and food stalls, the monasteries around the square are a nice place for a quiet drink. L’Uzès on the main street (Gambetta Avenue) has a slightly austere feel, with its limestone vaulted ceiling, but once locals start arriving, it takes on that atmosphere of friendly hedonism that’s the mark of a true French bistro. Serving French classics with a few Asian touches, or Occitane-style fish and chips if you prefer.
Faces turn dark and grimaces are barely suppressed when I tell them that I have been to Beaucaire, a town known to have been won by the far-right National Front, in Nîmes and now Uzès. Right-wing mayor Julien Sanchez saluted those leaving England by renaming a side street, Rue de Brexit.
But I discover that Beaucaire also contains an old town with thin walls, built by merchants who made their fortunes at the annual Foire de la Madeleine. From the mid-1400s, goods from the rest of France and the world were brought by boat. As in Edinburgh at the time of the festival, locals made small fortunes by renting out rooms or even a small campsite in front of their homes.
Railways came into use in the mid-19th century, and the fairground is now used as a car park, although the festival is celebrated with costume parades every July. Beaucaire’s medieval center and charming canalside are devoid of chic boutiques, but the hilltop monastery of Saint-Rome and its hermit caves are worth a visit.
After a day in Beaucaire, I spend the night in the countryside at Domaine des Clos, an 18th-century winery converted by a former travel writer and his family (just 9 km from the city and easy to reach by bike). Outside there are quiet groves of cypress and palm trees and a pool; Inside there are works of art, colorful fabrics and home-cooked meals.
My route to Aigues-Mortes takes me south to the Camargue, through a quiet landscape of canals and fields where white horses graze. The castle town overlooks the salt marsh, with the distant hills of the Cévennes biosphere reserve to the north.
Once a prison for unrepentant Protestants and their families, a brisk walk around the walls from the Tour de Constance takes about 25 minutes. I step off the railing and into what appears to be the most touristy of my near-Nimes experiences. I find myself frowning in the main square, where bars and restaurants are lined with waiters beckoning you in. But the food is solid, the prices are high, the experience is nothing like Cannes.
The last stop of my tour is Sommières. The village is dominated by a bridge built during the time of Tiberius. The Vidourle river flows under the bridge and under the cobblestone streets until it starts to flow. The last truly serious flood occurred in 2002, when water reached second-floor windows as a 300-metre-wide flood blocked the town.
The railway no longer comes to Sommières, the old station is now a three-star hotel. But it still feels like the timeless southern French town that attracted novelist Lawrence Durrell, who spent his final years here. They are proud of Durrell: his beautiful mansion overlooking the river is now rented out for holiday trips, and his cultural center is called Espace Lawrence Durrell.
In many people’s imagination, Nîmes and Gard are still on a par with its larger neighbor to the east. But this is not Provence, or even particularly Provençal. Her La France Profondesouthern style.
You can learn more about Nimes and its surroundings at nimes-tourisme.com.
Return Eurostar fares from London to Nimes start from £180