Nîmes Amphitheater & Wine

The best-preserved Roman amphitheater in the world. Built around 70 AD, it still hosts events today. Watch gladiator reenactments, then explore the wine bars in the medieval center serving excellent Costières de Nîmes.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Decode the Crocodile Chained to the Palm History · Free

   The emblem you'll see on sewer covers, wine labels, and city signs tells the full story of this place in one image.

   In 31 BC, Augustus and his general Agrippa crushed Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, Egypt fell to Rome, and veterans of the Egyptian campaign were given land here in Nemausus (Nîmes). Start at the arena exterior, then look DOWN at the pavement for the crocodile chained to a palm tree on Nîmes sewer covers (plaques d'égout) within 50 meters of the entrance. The coin minted to celebrate the victory — the 'As de Nîmes', struck from 28 BC to 15 AD — shows Augustus and Agrippa on one side, and a CROCODILE CHAINED TO A PALM TREE on the other. Crocodile = Egypt conquered, Palm = Roman victory, Chain = submission. In 1535, François I made it Nîmes' official coat of arms. Today it's the logo of Costières de Nîmes wine appellation — the wine in your glass carries the symbol of a 2,000-year-old battle.

   Backup: If you can't locate the sewer cover immediately, ask any local 'Où est le crocodile?' — every Nîmois knows exactly what you mean. The crocodile also appears on the Town Hall facade (four bronze crocodiles) a 5-minute walk away.

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2. 2 Descend to the Room Where No One Knows Who Built It History · Price: moderate

   Your standard arena ticket grants access to the only surviving underground chamber — and a 2,000-year-old mystery nobody has solved.

   This is where the gladiators waited, where caged animals paced before being hoisted through TRAPDOORS in the arena floor to face 24,000 screaming spectators above. Inside the arena (€11 adult, under 18 free with adult), follow the audio guide to the underground Cruciform Room — two perpendicular tunnels meeting at a cross, excavated in 1865. Somewhere in here, on two stone slabs, someone carved: 'T. CRISPIUS REBURRUS FECIT' — 'Titus Crispius Reburrus did this.' Nobody knows who he was or what he did. The inscription has sat here for 2,000 years, waiting for someone to figure it out. Read the Latin aloud, stand in the silence, and consider: above you, Roman senators watched men die in sunlight, while this man was down here in the dark, building something that would last forever.

   Backup: If the underground is closed for an event (the arena still hosts concerts and bullfights), count the arcades on the outer wall: 60 arches on each of 2 stories = 120 arches, all original.

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3. 3 Climb to Tier 34 and Count 24,000 Empty Seats Adventure · Price: moderate

   The highest surviving tier of seating gives you the view that only the poorest Romans had — and the best perspective on why this place still works.

   Roman law enforced the seating hierarchy — senators and equestrians at the bottom closest to the blood, women, slaves, and lowest classes at the top. Climb all the way to Tier 34, the highest surviving row, using any of the numbered vomitoria (arched entrances). You're looking at 24,000 seats, every one assigned by social status. The arena's four self-contained zones had separate entrances so social classes never mixed on the way to their seats. Look down 21 meters to the arena floor with the same sand, look north to the Cévennes mountains on clear days, southwest to the Camargue flatlands where the galets roulés pebbles of Costières de Nîmes vineyards begin. Count the tiers as you climb, touch the stone at Tier 34, notice how the rich Romans at Tier 1 demanded better stone quality.

   Backup: If there's an event and upper tiers are restricted, find Tier 17 — the mid-level maeniana boundary where the Roman class divide was drawn in literal stone, differently marked in the stonework.

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4. 4 Order a Wine Named for the Pebbles That Built This City Wine · Price: low

   Le Verre des Costières is named for the appellation itself. The wines carry the pebble-heated terroir the Romans farmed.

   You're drinking wine from an appellation officially classified as part of the RHÔNE VALLEY — not Languedoc, despite being in Languedoc. At Le Verre des Costières (Nîmes city center, a short walk from the arena), order wine from vineyards covered in galets roulés (rounded pebbles) that are the SAME stones as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, deposited by the same Rhône glacier during the Quaternary period. In 2004, wine authorities finally admitted what locals always knew: these pebbles absorb heat all day and release it at night, extending the ripening season exactly as they do in the most famous southern Rhône appellation. Ask for Château Mourgues du Grès 'Galets Rouges' or 'Galets Rosés' — the Collard family's biodynamic estate named 'du Grès' (Provençal for these exact pebbles). Ask the server: 'What's the difference between Costières and Châteauneuf?' Any local wine person will light up.

   Backup: If Le Verre des Costières is closed, Carré Jazz on Place de la Maison Carrée serves Costières wines on the terrace directly facing the 16 BC Roman temple. Same wines, Roman-era backdrop, no reservation needed.

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5. 5 Buy Wine Directly from the Grower at JeuDivin Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   Every Thursday in July and August, the winemakers of Costières de Nîmes set up in the city streets and pour directly for you for €7.

   For €7 you get entry + a tasting glass + 2 pours directly from Costières de Nîmes growers who are THERE IN PERSON — not a wine shop, but the actual farmer who woke up at 5am to check vine stress, pouring you their wine in a city square while a brass band plays 20 meters away. JeuDivin happens every Thursday in July and August, 6pm–11pm, at Boulevard de la Libération (opposite the Courthouse) or Charles-de-Gaulle esplanade, part of 'Jeudis de Nîmes' when the whole old city opens with artisans and food producers. Just arrive, buy the €7 pass at entrance, and ask each winegrower: 'What makes your galets different from the ones in Châteauneuf?' You'll get 10 different answers. If you taste something extraordinary, ask: 'Puis-je visiter le domaine demain matin?' Many will say yes.

   Backup: If visiting outside July/August, Château Mourgues du Grès in Beaucaire (20 minutes from Nîmes) accepts visitors weekdays and Saturday mornings for the 'Apéri'Vigne' vineyard walk and tasting experience — biodynamic estate, galets terroir, same wine culture, no crowds.

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Insider tips

• Arena is dramatically lit at night — visit twice

• Féria de Nîmes (Pentecost) is a massive wine-fueled celebration

• Try Costières de Nîmes at the wine bar in Place aux Herbes

• The Maison Carrée temple is a 10-minute walk away