Arènes de Cimiez

Arènes de Cimiez is a Roman amphitheatre in Nice’s Cimiez district, built within the ancient city of Cemenelum. You can see its elliptical outline, preserved podium wall, altered north and south entrances, and surviving seating beside centuries-old olive trees.

Construction began around AD 70 to 80, then expanded during the third century with two additional rows of stone seats. A circular walkway, stairs, and terracotta layers changed the structure, which eventually measured about 67 by 56 metres and held roughly 4,000 spectators. The arena itself measures 46 by almost 35 metres, while visible anchor points once supported a shade awning. After abandonment near the end of the third century, the space became a garden and vineyard before restoration recovered much of its Roman form.

The surrounding Jardin des arènes de Cimiez opens onto a wider archaeological area with Roman bath remains and the Nice-Cimiez Archaeological Museum. Concerts for the Nice Jazz Festival filled the amphitheatre from 1974 to 2010, and the site still carries traces of earlier life in its masonry, including scaffolding holes and the nearly continuous arena wall.