Location and weather Nîmes is the city situated in the south of France. It´s close to Montpellier and Marseille. Nîmes is the sunny city but sometimes it rains as well. In summer, it´s really hot and winter is mild.

In our city, the population is around inhabitants. It´s the 22 nd city of France.

The symbol of Nîmes is a crocodile chained to a palm tree. The crocodile represents Egypt and the laurel on the palm tree represents the Roman Empire. At the battle of Actium in 41 BC, the emperor Augustus defeated Queen Cleopatra. To celebrate this victory, the currency of Nimes was made: Ace of Nîmes.

In Nîmes, we speak French but in Middle Ages Occitan was spoken.

In the 4th century, Gallic people – The Volcae Arecomici settled around the source situated in today´s Jardins de la Fontaine This source became the sacred place where they worshipped God Nemausus. Nemausus gave the name to the city: Nîmes. In 120 BC, Romans settled in Nîmes. The Volcae Arecomici

Nîmes is one of the most important colonies of Roman world. Under the reign of emperor Augustus, the city grew significantly and was adorned with Roman monuments (les Arènes, la maison Carrée…). These sights attract large number of tourists.

Les Arènes de Nîmes During the Roman Empire, the amphitheatre was used mainly for gladiator fights. Nowadays, corridas, Camargue races and concerts take place in the amphitheatre. La maison Carrée This Roman temple was built in the 1st century. It´s dedicated to Lucius Ceasar and to Caius Julius Ceasar (both are grandsons of Augustus)

La Tour Magne Surrounded by fortification, the tower enabled to supervise the city in case of enemy attacks. Les Jardins de la fontaine The French formal garden, also called „jardin à la française“ is one of the first public parks in Europe.

Yannick Agnel Swimmer, won gold medal at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 Alphonse Daudet French writer