Nimes (Neem), the capital of the French dep. of Gard, lies in a fertile plain, engirt by the vine-clad Cevennes, 31 miles by rail NE. of Mont-pellier and 30 SW. of Avignon. The old town, with narrow crooked streets, is separated by shady boulevards from the well-built faubourgs ; and mediaeval and modern edifices are a much mutilated cathedral, the prison (formerly citadel, 1687), the palais-de-justice, St Paul's (1850), St Baudile's (1875), etc, with a most magnificent fountain, and a monument (1874) to Antoninus Pius. But the glory of Nimes is its Roman remains of the ancient Nemausus. These include the ' Maison Carree' (now a museum, with Dela-roche's masterpiece, 'Cromwell looking on Charles I.'s corpse'), a splendid specimen of Corinthian architecture; an amphitheatre (now a bull-arena), 70 feet high, and seating 20,000 spectators; the exquisite Nymphseum; a mausoleum (' La Tour Magne'), baths, and two gates, whilst 14 miles NE. is the 'Pont du Gard,' most perfect of aqueducts. Nimes manufactures silk and cotton goods, carpets, shawls, wine, brandy, boots, etc. Pop. (1872) 60,020 ; (1901) 72,749, one-third Protestants. Supposed to have been colonised from Massilia (Marseilles), Nimes, one of the great cities of Roman Gaul, was taken by the Visigoths (465), the Franks (507), and the Saracens (725), and subsequently became an appanage of Aragon, but was restored to France in 1259. The inhabitants adopted Calvinism in the 16th century; and it was a stronghold of the Camisards. In 1791 and 1815 it was the scene of bloody religious and political reactions. Nicot, Guizot, and Daudet were natives.