Preston twinned with Nîmes in 1955 with the textile industry being of common interest. Nîmes is inescapably linked to denim and the Roman Empire. The city’s coat of arms shows a crocodile chained to a palm tree. The symbol dates back to Roman times and commemorates the defeat of Mark Anthony on the Nile by the Emperor Augustus. The connection is that Augustus rewarded his legionaries with grants of land in the Roman colony at Nîmes. Today we can see the evidence in some of the most extensive and well preserved Roman remains in Europe. Denim is popularly considered to be a contraction of the term serge-de-Nîmes which is itself a cotton twill textile. Its original use was as rugged hard wearing work clothing exported to the southern states of America to clothe the slaves working there. Levi Strauss also used the material to make trousers for the Californian gold diggers.

Today the city is a vibrant forward looking place having recently used the architectural services of Norman Foster‚ Philippe Starck and Jean Nouvel. But the first place to visit is the 2nd century Roman amphitheatre. It is astonishing to think that this ancient monument is still in use today and has recently hosted events as diverse as Davis Cup tennis‚ a Pink Floyd rock concert‚ ice skating and bullfighting. Most of Nîmes’ other attractions are in an area called l’ecusson and houses 17th and 18th century mansions‚ shops and cafes and quaint little squares. The Maison Carrée is also in this area. Built in the 4th century‚ it has been church‚ museum‚ town hall and stables but today is home to a collection of Roman and Greek sculptures. There are a huge amount of things to do and places to see in Nîmes and a visit to the website of the Nîmes tourist office (which has an English version if required) is recommended.

Central Nîmes is packed with tourist shops and places to eat drink and be merry. There are plenty of Tapas bars‚ brassieres and pizzerias‚ many of which stay open for late night dining. The Féria des Vendanges takes place every year in May (Pentecost) and is a significant tourist attraction (over 1 Million visitors)

Nîmes is located in the south of France some 700kms from Paris. It can be reached by road using the A54 from Marseille to the east‚ the A7 from Lyon to the north or using the A9 from Perpignan and Spain to the west. Nîmes does have an airport but the only direct flights from the UK are from Liverpool‚ Nottingham and Luton using Ryanair. The railway station is less than five minutes walk from the Roman Arena and can be reached from Paris in only 3 hours using the TGV high speed trains.

Links:
www.nimes.fr	The official French language site for Nimes.
www.ot-nimes.fr/	The French language tourist information office at Nimes.
www.ot-nimes.fr/english_nimes/index.php	The tourist information office English translation version.
www.britsnimes.com	A British speaking association in Nimes.
www.telegraph.co.uk	An interesting take on Nimes written by Anthony Peregrine published in the Daily Telegraph on 2nd August 2007

Contact in Nimes

jumelages@ville-nimes.fr