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## Carré d’Art in Nîmes: Contemporary Architecture Facing a Roman Temple At 16 Place de la Maison Carrée in Nîmes, Carré d’Art stands directly opposite the UNESCO-listed Roman temple Maison Carrée. It is both a museum of contemporary art and the city’s municipal media library, housed in a single glass, steel, and concrete building designed by British architect Norman Foster and inaugurated in May 1993. Use these quick jumps inside this guide: - Architecture and design - Collections and exhibitions - Library and research facilities - Practical visit info & accessibility --- ## Why Carré d’Art Matters in Nîmes Carré d’Art was conceived in the 1980s as part of a project to rethink the ancient forum square around Maison Carrée and give Nîmes a strong contemporary cultural landmark. In 1984 the city launched an international architecture competition; twelve architects were invited, including Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, César Pelli and others. Norman Foster’s proposal was selected, and the building opened in 1993. Key facts you can rely on: - Function: contemporary art museum + classified municipal library/media library (médiathèque). - Location: Place de la Maison Carrée, in the historic center of Nîmes, directly facing the 1st-century Roman temple Maison Carrée. - Structure: nine storeys, about half of them below street level to keep the roofline close to surrounding buildings. - Materials: glass, concrete and steel, emphasizing transparency and light. This combination of Roman archaeology on one side of the square and late-20th-century architecture on the other is the core reason Carré d’Art shows up on serious architecture and art itineraries through the south of France. --- ## Architecture and Design: A Modern Counterpart to Maison Carrée ### Volume and layout Carré d’Art is a rectangular glass volume whose proportions deliberately echo the ancient temple across the square. The building rises over nine levels, with five of those levels underground; the lower floors hold archives and a cinema, while the upper levels host the media library and art galleries. By sinking roughly half the structure below ground, Foster kept the museum’s silhouette close to the surrounding residential blocks rather than turning it into a dominant tower. ### Dialogue with the Roman temple Several design choices are directly tied to Maison Carrée: - The rectangular footprint and calm, linear façades mirror the classical geometry of the temple. - The glass loggia toward the square acts as a contemporary interpretation of a temple portico, framing views of Maison Carrée through the façade. - The public steps leading up to the main entrance create a new urban terrace facing the Roman monument, effectively re-creating the feeling of the ancient forum as a gathering space. From outside, the building reads as transparent and lightweight; the structural grid is visible, but it doesn’t compete visually with the stone columns and solid podium of Maison Carrée. ### Interior atrium and circulation At the core of Carré d’Art is a glass-roofed atrium inspired by traditional internal courtyards in Nîmes. - Daylight filters down through this void, reaching the lower levels. - A system of cascading staircases and walkways connects the floors and keeps the circulation visually open. This design isn’t just aesthetic; it reduces reliance on artificial lighting in communal spaces and visually ties together the different functions (library, exhibition spaces, rooftop café/restaurant). --- ## Collections, Exhibitions and Artists ### Scope of the collection The contemporary art collection at Carré d’Art began in 1986 and now comprises around 600 works, with a focus on art from 1960 to the present day. d’Art The collection is particularly strong in movements rooted in southern France and the broader Mediterranean: - Nouveau Réalisme (New Realism) - Supports/Surfaces - Figuration Libre - Arte Povera, especially Italian artists. According to museum and regional museum-network sources, the hangings are reconfigured annually, allowing different themes and movements to be explored in depth over time. d’Art > Data caution: exact work counts can shift due to new acquisitions, loans and deposits from institutions like FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon and the Fonds national d’art contemporain, so any number quoted (≈600 works) should be treated as approximate rather than permanently fixed. d’Art ### Notable artists represented From available collection overviews, Carré d’Art holds works by: - Arte Povera and Mediterranean-linked artists such as Mario Merz, Giuseppe Penone, Alighiero Boetti and Giovanni Anselmo. - German painters including Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Albert Oehlen, and installations by Thomas Schütte. de la romanité – Nîmes - French and international contemporary artists like Sophie Calle, Annette Messager, Suzanne Lafont, and others whose work often appears in photography and installation form. de la romanité – Nîmes - American conceptual and performance-linked artists such as Richard Artschwager, Allan Kaprow, Joseph Kosuth and Christopher Wool. The museum also produces video documentaries and interviews around each exhibition, made jointly with the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes; these are accessible on site and via the museum’s online “Videos” section. d’Art --- ## Library and Research: A Major Médiathèque Carré d’Art also houses the municipal classified library of Nîmes, which moved here in 1993 from a former Jesuit cloister in the old town. Based on current French and Italian-language references: - The library/media library holds around 360,000 volumes, combining heritage materials and public-lending collections. - The heritage holdings include incunabula, medieval and early-modern manuscripts, and rare printed works relating to the history of Nîmes. The documentation and research center collaborates with the museum’s cultural department to support: - Academic research - Exhibition production - Audiovisual content and online catalogues d’Art For visitors, this means Carré d’Art is not just an exhibition venue—it is a working research hub where contemporary art, local history and specialised library resources intersect. --- ## Practical Visit Info, Accessibility and Passes ### Core practical information (subject to change) According to the official museum website, current operational details are: d’Art - Address: Carré d’Art – Musée d’art contemporain, Place de la Maison Carrée, 30000 Nîmes, France - Standard opening hours (museum): - Tuesday–Friday: 10:00–18:00 - Saturday–Sunday: 10:00–18:30 - Closed on Mondays and on 1 January, 1 May, 1 November, 11 November and 25 December. - Ticketing (exhibitions): - Full price listed as 8 € - Reduced price listed as 6 € - First Sunday of the month: free entry - A range of categories (for example, under-18s, certain students, people receiving welfare benefits, disabled visitors and companions, ICOM members and others) currently benefit from free admission, subject to official proof. - Nîmes Museums pass: since July 2022, a 40 € annual pass gives access to six municipal museums in Nîmes for one year from activation. d’Art > Important – possible outdated data: > Opening hours, admission prices, discount categories and pass conditions can change. The above details are taken from the Carré d’Art official site and Nîmes museum information pages at the time of writing; check carreartmusee.com or the Nîmes tourism website again just before your visit to confirm current conditions. d’Art ### Getting there locally Carré d’Art is located on Place de la Maison Carrée, roughly 1–1.3 km from Nîmes main railway station, a walk of about 15–20 minutes through the city center, or a short ride on several local bus lines that stop near Maison Carrée / Carré d’Art. A nearby underground car park at Place d’Assas (Parking Maison Carrée) offers paid parking and includes designated spaces for disabled drivers. d’Art ### Accessibility and inclusive services Carré d’Art’s own accessibility pages state that: d’Art - The entire building is accessible to visitors using wheelchairs or with reduced mobility. - The museum’s cultural department can organise tailored visits and workshops for groups of disabled visitors, with options including: - French Sign Language (LSF) interpretation during visits and workshops - Tactile tours of certain works (with gloves) - Multi-session projects for children, teenagers and adults in medical-educational and social-care settings These points come directly from the museum’s own accessibility policy and are not generalised assumptions. --- ## Rooftop and Surrounding Area At the top of the building there is a roof-terrace restaurant/café historically known as Le Ciel de Nîmes, offering views over the city and the Roman remains; it has been used both as a public restaurant and for private events. > Note on the rooftop restaurant: > Sources confirm that a rooftop restaurant has operated on the top floor of Carré d’Art and has been marketed as a brasserie / café with terrace seating. Restaurant concepts and opening times can and do change; if the rooftop is a priority for your visit, verify its current status and hours directly with the restaurant or via recent local tourism information. Immediately outside, you step into Place de la Maison Carrée, with direct views of the now-UNESCO-listed Roman temple (inscribed in 2023). --- ## How to Use This in a Broader Nîmes Itinerary Within central Nîmes, Carré d’Art slots naturally into an art-and-heritage loop linking: - Les Arènes de Nîmes (Roman amphitheater) - Maison Carrée (Roman temple and UNESCO World Heritage site) - Carré d’Art (contemporary art and media library) - Jardins de la Fontaine and Tour Magne further west in the city All of those are within walking distance of each other based on current city guides and transport information. Walking Tours