48 hours in Nîmes

Occitanie/2024

The prefecture of the Gard used to fall asleep under its palm trees. Recently, a new wind has been blowing through its gastronomy, awakening palates. Conjugating the past to the future, it has plenty of projects in mind. While we wait for them to come to fruition, let's take a stroll beneath the poetic flight of the swifts.

11:30 am, a Thursday. Outside the Halles market, on the Rue Guizot sidewalk, the regulars are in conversation, drinks in hand. Behind the counter, knives, tools and a few postcards. It's a cheerful mess that has nothing to do with the neighborhood café. "I sharpen friendship with picpoul-de-pinet," Jérôme Domingo laughs as he serves his petit blanc. A bon vivant, this artisan cutler opens this kiosk, an extension of his neighboring workshop, from Thursday to Sunday. It has become a meeting place. After fifteen years in Thiers, the craftsman has returned to his home town. Butchers, fishmongers and restaurateurs from the market and beyond (including La Pie qui Couette and Vincent Croizard) order blades from him or drop them off. Jérôme Domingo sharpens, repairs and sells everything that slices. He also creates knives with handles in cade wood, olive wood, boxwood and even toro horn from the Nîmes bullring. As we all know, all roads lead to Rome. In Nîmes, all roads lead to the arena. Bullfighting is part of the local culture and can be discovered here and there: bullfighting trophies adorn the walls of the Grand Café de la Bourse; bullfighting posters decorate the mythical Maison Albar L'Imperator hotel, recently renovated, where the great bullfighters have their habits. As for the manadiers, they can be found at Les Indiennes boutique in Nîmes, trying on cotton moleskin gardian pants. From there to the bullring, all they have to do is push open the door. Built twenty years after Rome's Colosseum, the two-thousand-year-old amphitheatre is one of the best preserved in the Roman world. Forget the tourists, close your eyes and imagine a gladiatorial combat under the roar of the crowd. Chills guaranteed. The journey through time continues next door, at the Musée de la Romanité. Wrapped in 7,000 slats of glass by architect Elizabeth de Portzamparc, it unfolds 25 centuries of history, including the secrets of the Volcanoes and Romans. All too rarely (twice a year), Aper'Opéras are held here, followed by a tasting of costières-de-nîmes wines. But it's the Maison Carrée (rather rectangular, measuring 31 by 15 metres!) that now takes all the honours. In 2023, it was finally inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage List. This Roman temple, one of the few to have survived the centuries, is in perfect harmony with the glass and steel architecture of Norman Foster's Carré d'Art - Musée d'art contemporain. In the shadow of the building, Textures Comptoirs & Objets is a lovely spot for a coffee break, aperitif or lunch. It's on the way to the Jardins de la Fontaine, a grandiose staging of ancient remains rustling with birdsong. Let's climb the hill: the Magne Tower offers a breathtaking view of the city. From here, it's just a matter of unwinding the "denim" thread to the sublime 17th-century former bishop's palace, home to the Musée du Vieux Nîmes. It's a pity that the history of Nîmes canvasses leaves us wanting more. Let's go for the legend. As early as the 16th century, the town made a name for itself with its wool twill or serge de Nîmes, a weaving technique that eventually crossed the Atlantic. Cotton also got involved. In 19th-century California, a certain Levi Strauss cut denim into workwear. These "blue jeans", then overalls, were designed for lumberjacks, then gold miners. Their pockets, reinforced with rivets, were a success. The rest is history. In Nîmes, Guillaume Sagot is writing a new chapter in denim by reviving tradition: he weaves the fabric himself. "I'd like to put the city back on the textile map," he says. He's well on his way to doing just that. In the meantime, his sustainable jeans can be found in his Les Ateliers store in Nîmes. This shopping trip is also a good excuse to lose yourself once again in the lanes of the Écusson, the historic center, lined with beautiful townhouses and lively squares. They're full of cafés where the pastis always seems fresh. But beware: too much of it and you'll see crocodiles flying! You'll have to pinch yourself to see the four large naturalized specimens hanging from the ceiling of the Hôtel de Ville staircase. What a symbol! The crocodile, attached to a palm tree, has been part of the Nîmes coat of arms since 1535, following the discovery of an ancient coin. It was minted to commemorate Augustus' victory over Egypt in 31 BC. Holy Romans. They never seem to have left! B. D.