Nimes or Arles?

Last year, my husband and I went to both Nimes and Arles. The Roman arenas in the cities are very similar, but the one in Nimes is bigger. We also really enjoyed seeing the Maison Carree in Nimes.

Arles has a much smaller feel and is more intimate than Nimes. Also, the museum there which shows the town during Roman times is really excellent. We also enjoyed seeing the cloisters at St. Trophime church. (There is a Van Gogh walking tour too, but we didn't do it.)
It's really a tough choice because they are both interesting cities. However, be sure that you see the Pont du Gard which is closer to Nimes.

I'll echo what Marekcathy said. Maybe you can combine Nimes and Pont du Gard. PDG is an amazing sight, but you don't need to spend much time there.

I spent several days in Nimes and went to Pont du Gard one day, Arles another. You could combine them into one trip, especially if you have a car.

Nimes has more to do/see than Arles, I liked using it as a base. I also visited Orange (great Roman arena).

The Roman arena in Nimes is much more intact than the one in Arles, and at least in 2006 when I was there, admission included a very well done and informative audio tour.

I liked both cities, but preferred Nimes (just a bit, though - you can't go wrong with either).

Thanks for the information. I think we will check out Nimes and see the PDG also since I have already been to Arles. It will be fun to see something new. Thanks for the recommendations.

I'd recommend not driving in the city centers of Nimes or Arles. Arles is smaller and the city center is easier to avoid, than Nimes. You can take trains to both cities and get around Arles on foot, Nimes is bigger so walking there is less helpful than Arles.

I've driven in the center of Nimes twice; once just to return a car. And I agree it's a little hectic. On the other hand, although Nimes is fairly large, the center is pretty compact; the area a visitor would want to walk is not that huge. I spent a week there w/o a car, and it was easy to get around on foot.