The Best Places to Stay and Do in Nîmes

Three eco-lodges tucked into the Provençal garrigue outside Nîmes, built entirely from local and sustainable materials and running on solar and heat-pump systems. The carbon footprint is minimal; the comfort is not: Sofitel-grade beds, rain showers, and an acoustic guitar left out in case inspiration strikes. Bien Loin d'Ici means "far from everything," and for once the name does the work.

Art Deco bones, a spa, and rooms ranging from suites to full residences make this Nîmes landmark a serious hotel stay. It sits between the Maison Carrée and the Jardin de la Fontaine, which is almost unfairly well positioned. Hemingway, Picasso, and Ava Gardner were regulars, and the hotel has leaned into that legacy with a bar named after the least glamorous of the three. Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant DUENDE is on site for when the brasserie feels too casual.

A grand spiral staircase anchors this boutique hotel inside an opulent mansion a few blocks from Nîmes' Roman amphitheater. The Rouge restaurant gets the dramatics right with scarlet arching walls, while a library lined with jewel-toned sofas and vintage cocktail carts handles the quiet hours. Rooms run to hardwood floors and boldly tiled bathrooms, but the open-air courtyard, plunge pool and all, is where guests tend to linger longest.

A stylist and a photographer own this 14-room boutique hotel in central Nîmes, which explains why every sightline ends on something worth looking at: brocade canopy beds, vintage claw-foot tubs, antiques arranged for intrigue rather than propriety, caged birds. Outside, cloistered Provençal garden, cascading bougainvillea, a marble fountain, and a jade pool. Nîmes runs darker and more cerebral than the rest of Provence, and the hotel leans into that rather than fighting it.