Museum of Natural History

Inaugurated in 1895, the Nîmes Museum ranks 6th in France for the richness of its collections.

Set around a cloister and a listed 17th-century chapel, it houses thousands of items in all areas of the natural sciences and certain sectors of the human sciences. Pending renovation, four themes are presented to the public: local prehistory, the geology of southern France, ethnography in the 1930s and zoology.

Each year, a new temporary exhibition takes place in the Galerie Jules Salles, adjacent to the Museum, to tackle topical scientific issues based on the museum's rich collections. The temporary exhibitions and the many scientific workshops make the Nîmes site a mecca for regional scientific culture.

Today, the Muséum de Nîmes comprises two entities: the Natural History Museum and the Planetarium.

The Nîmes Planetarium invites you to follow the fascinating spectacle of the Universe from the comfort of your armchair. Projected by a special instrument, the planetarium, onto the vaulted ceiling of a sixty-five-seat auditorium, the moon, planets and stars move at will, inviting you to take a trip away from it all. Complementary and often spectacular still and moving images show the immense diversity of celestial bodies. A fabulous journey through space and time. A relaxing, poetic and educational experience.

The Planetarium's various sessions are designed for young and old alike.