France 2001

Nimes

Walking straight from the Nimes train station you arrive here

Nimes, in Roman times in tight competition with Arles for power and influence, has maybe the finest example of Roman amphitheaters anywhere

2000 years of spectators walked these corridors, eager to be entertained

Today it's concerts and bull fights that thrill the crowds, and tourists the rest of the time

Note the toothlike extrusions around the edge. They once held wooden masts to which large canopies were connected to provide shade for the audience. France, perhaps lacking our paranoia about safety, permits visitors to wander all over this structure, right to the stomach churning edge.

The Maison Carree is one of the best preserved Roman temples anywhere at all, and the other great treasure of Nimes

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