Hi, I thinking of Nimes as a 3 day base on our way from Paris to Barcelona. Is this a good option vs. Montpellier (we'd like to stay fairly close to the TGV route to BCN). I appreciate any suggestions/comments on our proposed plan. Elaine
Day 1: arrive midday, walk around Nimes.
Day 2: bus to Pont Du Gard-can I add a triangulated route back to Nimes via a 2nd stop?
Day 3: Best small/scenic villages to visit via train/bus?
Posted by
Chicago
8514 posts
That option was great for us.
We took the bus to Pont Du Gard it leaves right outside the train station parking area and then just familiarize yourself with the schedule back. You will see others taking the bus back. You can easily get to Avignon (it's ok) and Arles from Nimes. We took a half day guided van tour to other towns like Gordes, Roussillion, Les Baux from Nimes arranged by the Tourist info center
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11447 posts
Uzès is a wonderful place to visit from Nîmes particularly on market days, Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Posted by
33 posts
We stayed in Arles instead of NImes. We drove to Nimes but it was so crowded with traffic and people, we could not find place to stop and park. I did not realize Nimes was a big and busy area. I wished we did walk around the area but we left. We stayed in the old Walled town in Arles which was fine, it was very quiet at night. We stayed at Hotel Calendal, would recommend.
Posted by
France Southwest
3273 posts
Check if the regional transport map (liO) in the Gard can be useful for your travels:
The white lines are train lines. All colored lines are bus lines.
The market days in the region are indicated at the bottom of the page.
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
725 posts
Uzes would triangulate well with nimes and Pont Du Gard. I happen to be in Uzes at the moment and I just took the bus, #115, to Pont du Gard and back this afternoon. I came to Uzes via Nimes on bus 152 a couple days ago and am heading back through Nimes tomorrow. Public transit has worked well for me. The tourism office in nimes or any of the nearby towns can give you the updated bus schedules. Saturday and Sunday bus schedules are more limited than weekdays. The online bus schedules I was able to find before traveling were not always totally up to date for exact times.
As a ceramics enthusiast, I spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday in the small village of St Quentin de la Poterie, a 10 minute ride north? of Uzes. I took a taxi there and a bus back.
Before Uzes, I based in Arles for 4 nights. I liked staying in Arles and day tripping to Avignon and Nimes but any combination could work and be enjoyable.