maison carree

586katieb

This is an amazing intact 1 century AD Roman temple. It has never been destroyed and all the walls, columns and roof are intact. You walk in and you really get the feel of the scale of the building and can experience it in many ways as Roman Gauls did. This is one of my favorite ancient places in France.

726DanF

One of the best preserved Roman temples in existence. When I was here in 1999, it was free, and you could check out the inside as well, granted there wasn't much to see inside. Now you pay to go inside, to ONLY see a movie ( in a made up theatre, you can`t see any of the original inside anymore), about the history of the city, and the temple. The movie itself was really good, done with actors, and special effects. But still, I think people would like to see the inside, and show the movie in a room of another building on the square. Or at the very least, let the people walk out the back of the theater, after the movie, to see the back of the temple.

DeniseB63

Walking just a few blocks from the Arenes des Nimes, (Colosseum), we found ourselves admiring the recently cleaned La Maison Carree Temple. Centuries old grime has been removed to the point where you wonder if this is a new structure. It is beautiful and magnificent. The exterior is very ornate and definitely worth a brief walk around and up the stairs to view the architecture. It is one of the best preserved Roman temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire and worth a visit. Tour books do not recommend paying for an entrance inside the Temple.

DinFrance

Visited twice (probably with a 20+ year gap in between). Still, for me, absolutely wonderful outside. Don't know what it is; the dimensions, the form, the stone or even the square it sits in. It seems magnificent and, oddly, soothing. (I'm worried I'm going all arty now!).In my mind, ranks as highly as the Pantheon in Rome. Clearly the latter is a totally different scale but both leave the same impression.

adamsfami

Impressive building and the information boards help to illustrate what the original buildings would have looked like. The Norman Foster designed square includes where pillars would have been. inside the building is used to show a film about Nimes and Roman history which was well made and informative. The film runs every half an hour. We bought a ticket that took in the Maison Carree, Arena and Tour de Magne, which I think was good value.

thewearykind

You can also view a thirty minute film showcasing the history of the city, emphasizing the Roman origins. However, there's not much else to do here, short of taking some photos of the lovely exterior.

sueoelman

we had read that this was not a place with entering and we did not. It is an outstanding piece of Roman architecture patterned after the Temple of Apollo and can be easily view from outside and from each side.

PalmBeachCountyGirl

Maison Carree (square house) is a beautiful, classical building dating back to Nime's Roman past. Make sure you take pictures among the impressive columns and steps and also view it at night when it's lit up. The interior is just a large room which shows a well-produced movie about Nimes' history. If you buy the combination pass for the arena, tour, and square house, then by all means...go watch the movie. It's not long and is informative. Otherwise, I would not pay for a pass to only this attraction.

Thomas_Jerome

inside it's just a big movie theater. They play a well-produced and relatively informative film, but it is short and very biased in favor of Roman imperialism, which was kind of funny to me. I kept thinking, "Is this Mafia-produced?"

walkerhb

This is just a film show about Roman Nimes but it's very well done. The new Norman Foster gallery opposite fits in well with the original Roman Forum idea.

O1740YJjamess

Impressive externally but no access inside apart from a film show which we did not go to. I can't say what the film content was but would suggest better ways to spend your money

LarryFLosAngeles

Having been here three times, I thought I had seen it all without being very impressed, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see that there is now a terrific interpretive film about both the Square House and the Coliseum.The film not only added to my appreciation of Nimes, but of all the Roman ruins in Provence

763tanyaj

Sadly for tourists, the exterior of the Maison Carree is the only bit that survives in its original form, so the attraction itself consists of a 30 minute film (in French with English subtitles) which gives the story of how the Maison Carree came into being, plus some more interesting background on the local tribes joining forces with the Romans to overcome the Northern Gauls, which lead to Nimes being a major city within the Roman Empire. It's not a place you'll spend more than an hour at, but it's a relaxed and informative part of the Roman experience in Nimes.

Worldepicurian

Just seeing it from outside was enough. A lot of people and kind of a boring exhibit to my taste. but still impressive that it is still standing!

MikeJL59

This has now become effectively a cinema to show the history of Nimes which while that is a good item to show it has defaced the inside of this Temple and the few details that it contained. I'm glad we saw it 13 years ago before this happened! The outside still is a fine example of Greco-Roman architecture, but you can see that for free.