Les Jardins Secrets

Nîmes


You'll go giddy over the exuberant, ever-so-slightly OTT interior of this 18th-century maison bourgeoise (stately house) with 14 rooms. It’s dripping with luxury, from canopied beds, chandeliers and antique clawfoot baths to a Roman-style bathhouse, statues and divine gardens – you'll either love it or loathe it. For these prices, you’d think they could include breakfast and parking (extra €28 each).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nîmes attractions

1. Musée d’Histoire Naturelle

0.3 MILES

Nîmes' natural history museum has the usual displays of stuffed beasties, fossils and skeletons, as well as a few menhirs (standing stones) decorated by…

2. Église St-Baudile

0.38 MILES

Topped by twin towers reaching 70m, Nîmes' largest church (accommodating up to 3000 worshippers) was built in neogothic style between 1867 and 1877.

3. Musée des Beaux-Arts

0.39 MILES

The city’s fine-arts museum has a fairly pedestrian collection of Flemish, Italian and French works, although it’s worth a look for the fine Roman mosaic,…

4. Les Arènes

0.39 MILES

Nîmes’ twin-tiered amphitheatre is the best preserved in France. Built around 100 BC, the arena once seated 24,000 spectators and staged gladiatorial…

5. Musée de la Romanité

0.39 MILES

Opened in mid-2018, this futuristic steel-and-glass structure faces Les Arènes right in the heart of the city. Within, the ambitious archaeological museum…

6. Musée du Vieux Nîmes

0.44 MILES

Inside the city's 17th-century episcopal palace, the town museum delves into the history of Nîmes from Roman times through to the modern era, with lots of…

7. Maison Carrée

0.6 MILES

Constructed in gleaming limestone around AD 5, this temple was built to honour Emperor Augustus’ two adopted sons. Despite the name, the Maison Carrée …