The Roman amphitheatre at Nimes is the best preserved anywhere. Dating from the late 1C and early 2C, it measures 133m by 101m and could accommodate 24 000 people. Its exterior presents an attic storey above two levels of 60 arcades each (21m). The Visigoths turned it into a fortress and it was a village of 700 inhabitants in the 18C. They left in 1809, allowing for restoration of the building to its original purpose. Two multimedia displays explain everything on gladiators and bullfighting.