Built on a podium towering over the forum, the economic and administrative heart of Ancient Nîmes, the Maison Carrée is the only completely preserved temple of the ancient world.

Inspired by the temples of Apollo and Mars Ultor in Rome, the charm of the Maison Carrée lies in the harmony of its proportions. The only completely preserved temple from the ancient world, the Maison Carrée is 26 metres long by 15 wide and 17 high. The pronaos ceiling dates from the start of the 19th century ; the current door was made in 1824.

The Maison Carrée is an expression of the new regime set up by Augustus. An imperial family surrounds the central figure, setting up sites to demonstrate and express public authority, now concentrated in the hands of one person. Monuments, inscriptions, statues and portraits, elements of architectural decor, they all describe in their own way the activities and development of the new regime. The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, which bears an inscription in gilded letters mentioning the two young children adopted by Augustus, is part of this new political system.

The Maison Carrée owes its exceptional state of preservation to being in constant use since the 11th century : it has been a town hall, stable, apartment, church. After the French Revolution, it was the headquarters of the first prefecture of Gard, then it was converted into regional archives.