Orlando is ready to “sleigh” the holiday season with two months of enchanting celebrations. Ranked among the top holiday destinations for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve by Google Flights, visitors to Orlando can expect exclusive holiday parties, millions of sparkling lights, star-studded performances, a teddy bear teatime and even a pop-up retro roller rink. This year’s festivities promise unforgettable experiences for all ages.

Nîmes, the capital of the Gard region in the south of France, beautifully fuses ancient Roman history, rich cultural traditions, and modern Provençal charm. Founded as a Roman colony around the 1st century BC, it became a bustling town and eventually one of the wealthiest cities in Roman Gaul. Much survives and it remains one of the most Roman of cities outside Italy.

Beyond its Roman monuments, Nîmes boasts a charming Old Town filled with narrow cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and tiny squares. The Cathedral of Notre Dame et Saint Castor, dating back to the 11th century, is a beautiful example of Romanesque-Gothic architecture. The streets are perfect for wandering, with many cafes, shops, and artisan boutiques.

Stop by the Place aux Herbes, a lively square where locals gather to enjoy coffee, or dine at one of the many bistros. Les Halles de Nîmes, the city’s bustling covered market, is a great place to sample regional specialties. Here, you’ll find everything from Brandade de Morue (a creamy dish made from salt cod and olive oil) and Tapenade, a paste made from olives, capers, and anchovies.

Arena of Nîmes

Nîmes has one of the world’s best preserved Roman amphitheatres. Built around 70 AD, it once hosted thrilling gladiator battles and entertained audiences of up to 24,000 people. Its elliptical shape, towering arches, and intricate design reflect the architectural prowess of the Romans.  The two tiers of 60 arches once held up to 24,000 spectators. Take a self-guided tour through the arena, learning about its history and construction.

Multimedia displays and audio guides provide insights into the lives of the gladiators and the engineering marvels that made such grand structures possible. For a truly immersive experience, plan your visit during the re-enactment season, when the arena transforms into an authentic gladiatorial stage with actors recreating scenes from ancient Roman battles Today, the arena continues to be a lively cultural hub, hosting concerts, festivals, and even the annual bullfighting event, Feria de Nîmes.

Maison Carrée

Just a short walk from the arena lies the Maison Carrée, a beautifully preserved Roman temple dedicated to the sons of Agrippa, one of Emperor Augustus’s close associates. Built around 2 AD, it remains one of the finest examples of classical Roman architecture. Its striking features include a pristine white limestone facade, tall Corinthian columns, and a grand portico.

Over the centuries, it’s been repurposed many times from a meeting hall to a Christian church. Inside, there’s a museum with films and exhibitions highlighting the Roman history of Nîmes and the importance of the temple in ancient times. Its design has inspired numerous famous buildings, including the Église de la Madeleine in Paris and the Virginia State Capitol in the United States.

The Temple of Diana and Jardins de la Fontaine

The Temple of Diana is another fascinating Roman relic, although somewhat of a mystery. Located within the lush Jardins de la Fontaine, it dates back to the 2nd century AD and was likely dedicated to the goddess Diana. Historians are still unsure of its exact purpose, as it was possibly a library or meeting hall rather than a traditional temple.

The Jardins de la Fontaine themselves are worth exploring. Created in the 18th century, they were among the first public gardens in Europe. Built around a natural spring that supplied water to the Roman city, the gardens are designed in a classical French style, with pathways, statues, and decorative pools.

Musée de la Romanité

Enveloped in an undulating façade of translucent glass, designed to mimic the folds of a Roman toga, this new archaeological museum, facing the Arena, is a striking building. Opened in 2018, it creates an architectural juxtaposition of the ancient and the contemporary.

Inside, the museum houses an extensive collection of Roman artefacts, including mosaics, statues, pottery, and other archaeological finds from Nîmes and the surrounding areas. Interactive displays, virtual reality experiences, and multimedia presentations bring the Roman world to life. The rooftop terrace offers a spectacular view of the amphitheatre and the city beyond.

Gorges du Gardon

A short drive from the city, Gorges du Gardon is a striking canyon carved by the Gardon River,  22 kms long. This remarkable landscape offers a unique blend of natural beauty  twinned with stunning geological formations. It’s also a haven for a variety of wildlife and plant species. There are numerous hiking trails of varying difficulty levels, taking you up. down and along the sides of the gorge.

One of the most popular trails leads to the Hermitage of Saint Vérédème, little more than a cave in the side of the canyon. The river is ideal for canoeing and kayaking, particularly in spring and early summer when the water levels are at their highest. Cycle paths, winding around the top of the gorge, offer stunning views of the river and the terrain beyond.

Factfile

GO: Ryanair flies direct to Nîmes airport from London Stansted.

The Stansted Express is the fastest way to the airport from central London.

INFO: Nîmes Tourisme has information about the city.

Tourisme Gard has information about the region.

STAY: The Appart’City Confort Nîmes Arenes is in the historic centre, one minute from the Arena.

EAT: La table du 2 serves inventive cuisine by Franck Putelat with its terrace offering a breath-taking view of the Arena.

La Table d’Assas uses fresh seasonal produce in its weekly changing menus.

 

The post Travel Guide to Nîmes, France appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

We all make mistakes when shooting in the field and the trick is to learn something every time and not make the same mistake twice. If it’s any solace keep in mind that even the most successful pros blow a shot on occasion.

But here’s the rub: When we turn to post processing to rehabilitate a problem image, here too there are several preventable mistakes that compromise the enhancements you make. This eight minute video from instructor Jalen Oban identifies nine of the most common errors made by Lightroom users, and then he demonstrates a better way.

Oban is an accomplished landscape photographer based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest who posts weekly tutorials that share his favorite shooting and editing tricks—along with mistakes he’s made himself. There’s something valuable for everyone to learn, whether you’re just starting out or want to refine your everyday workflow.

The promise of today’s lesson is to help you save time by streamlining the image-editing process, achieve eye-popping results, and greatly improve your Lightroom editing workflow. Oban begins by stating the obvious: The “first mistake and possibly the biggest one is not getting it right in camera.”

Along with that is an overreliance image-editing tricks to make up for sloppy technique in the field. In other words, don’t be a lazy shooter who thinks miracles can be achieved by “fixing it post.” Bottom line: the better the original shot is, “the more flexibility you’ll have in post processing.”

With that mandatory disclaimer out of the way, Oban devotes the remainder of the video to nine remaining problems and solutions that occur within Lightroom itself. It’s worth taking a few notes for future reference or revising your workflow

Once the lesson concludes take a look at Oban’s instructional YouTube channel for more tips, techniques, and other solutions for being the best you can be.

We also urge you to check out our recent post from another accomplished pro, with the ultimate panorama photography guide. This helpful resource includes everything beginners need to know for making spectacular wide image that really grab attention.

There are always new techniques to learn whenever Adobe releases an update, with much of our attention focused upon the headline-grabbing new tools. However, it’s also important to recognize when an update includes improvements to existing tool that make them faster and more effective.

To complicate matters, whether you edit with Lightroom or Photoshop, there are typically more than one way to skin a cat, and sometimes this means understanding the difference between new and pre-existing tools so you can take the best approach for the specific task at hand. That’s the topic of this lesson; specifically with regard to Point Color vs. Saturation in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Instructor Matt Kloskowski is a pro photographer and post-processing expert who says, “I feel that Photoshop and Lightroom are WAY too complicated.” That’s why today’s tutorial, like others of his we shared in the past, is all about simplifying common  tools and techniques.

Here’s the impetus for the Matt’s 13-minute episode: “When examining the difference between Saturation and the newer Point Color tool (which also includes Saturation), I started wondering if I took my masking tools and wanted to adjust a color in an are within the frame, which of these tools should I use. As you might expect with a question like this, the answer is “it depends.”

Matt takes a unique approach to illustrating the benefits and drawbacks of the two tools in question, while demonstrating the straightforward manner in which both work. He dives in with a “geeky” theoretical illustration, followed by several creative and practical methods for achieving a perfect result.

Here’s a clue: The key difference has to do with adjusting one color like red that’s at 100%, versus dealing with all the variations of a color.” We’ll let the expert supply the rest.

There are many more straightforward instructional videos on Matt’s popular YouTube Channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you can.

We also recommend that you watch the earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to enhance boring outdoor photographs by unlocking the power of Lightroom’s Color Contrast tools.