INTRODUCTION TO NIMES, MARSEILLE, AND AIX-EN-PROVENCE GALLERIES

Nimes is notable for Les Arenes, a Roman arena built around 100BCE, and Maison Carree (Square House) built about 5CE during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Nimes also has a smattering of gothic church and building carvings.

Once an ancient Greek colonial settlement, Marseille has seen a flotsam and jetsam of cultures wash over it as one history wipes over the other inch by inch. Departing the Saint-Charles Train station overlooking the central tourist area of Marseille, one is overcome by the difference of this city from the rest of France. It’s a port to North Africa revealed in segments of the population, a ship discharging most Algerian families, and the Moorish-influenced churches. You’ll find gothic, monumental, art nouveau, and other architecture throughout the city. As well as murals, and more common graffiti tags even on centuries-old doors and walls. Some of the edifice of old Marseille is crumbling while building projects seems sparse for such an otherwise vibrant city.

The old town of Aix-en-Provence extending from the train station has a charm gained from layers from the past 3-400 years of its Provencale and French named streets.