Car hire Nimes

Cheap Car Hire Nimes

About Car Hire in Nîmes

Nîmes, on France’s Mediterranean Coast, is a beautiful city to visit – steeped in history, filled with culture and blessed with year-round sunshine, this city is one of France’s best.

Exploring Nîmes could not be easier than by car. Whether you want to do some urban exploring or want to go on some memorable road trips across southern France, the world is your oyster when you hire a car in Nîmes.

How to Drive in Nîmes

It is important to familiarise yourself with several rules of the road in Nîmes before hiring a car. These rules are not just exclusive to the city of Nîmes, but the rest of France, too – so take extra care when reading these rules so that you know how to drive in and around Nîmes before you visit:

• Drive on the right of the road and overtake on the left. This is the opposite of the UK, but the same as the majority of continental Europe and the US.
• It is mandatory to wear a seatbelt at all times while the car is in motion. The driver is responsible for ensuring that all passengers wear seatbelts.
• Drivers must be 18 years old to hire a car in Nîmes and in the rest of France.
• Drivers under 25 years old are likely to be charged a young driver surcharge, although this is at the discretion of individual companies.
• Speed limit signs are displayed in km/h (kilometres per hour), rather than mph (miles per hour).
• You will need a credit card in your name to hire a car in Nîmes.

What to see in Nîmes

Nîmes is known as the “French Rome”, so there are lots of Roman-themed places you can visit, but perhaps the most spectacular of all is the Roman Amphitheatre in the city centre.

The Maison Carrée – a beautiful Roman temple – is also well worth a visit when you’re in Nîmes, as is the Tour Magne, the only remaining tower from the original city walls, which offers incredible panoramic views over Nîmes.

Les Halles market is another good place to visit to experience the vibrant nature of the city and the wonderful colourful lifestyle that the locals live, as well as Jardins de la Fontaine, which are beautiful gardens offering a peaceful escape from the bustling city lifestyle.

Best road trips from Nîmes city

Due to its location in the South of France, there are numerous road trips which can be taken from Nîmes.

Perhaps one of the best is a trip to the Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, just half an hour’s drive from the city.

Grenoble, Nice, Toulouse and Saint-Tropez can all be reached in under three hours if the traffic is good, and all of these places offer wonderful insights into the culture of southern France.

If you want to tick off a few different countries, you can also visit neighbouring Monaco in around three hours, Genoa (Italy) in under six hours, Andorra la Vella (Andorra) in around four and a half hours, and Girona (Spain) in just over three hours.

Range of Car Types in Nîmes

Several different cars can be hired in Nîmes, from small and compact vehicles such as the Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 and Fiat 500, to larger family-sized cars like the Renault Captur, Ford Kuga and Peugeot 3008. Most of these vehicles are available in either manual or automatic transmission modes, and some are also electric.