| The best places to hang out for coffees and drinks are the numerous little squares scattered through the old town: place de la Maison-Carrée, place du Marché, place aux Herbes (breakfast here early at the Café des Beaux-Arts, as the sun is just climbing up behind the cathedral tower). Three classic Nîmes cafés are the Napoléon, in boulevard Victor-Hugo, and the Grande and Petite Bourse, side by side at the back of the Arènes on the corner of boulevard Victor-Hugo. For later in the evening, there's the very pretty Carrée d'Art piano bar on rue Gaston-Bossier, near the canal and the postmodern place d'Assas. For eating, boulevard de la Libération and boulevard Amiral-Courbet harbour a stock of reasonably priced brasseries and pizzerias, and the squares too are full of possibilities. La Truye qui Filhe, 9 rue Fresque (lunchtimes only, closed Sun & Aug), is an attractive self-service, where you can eat for around €8.50, while the Flan Coco, in an unbeatable courtyard setting in passage André-Malraux, 29 rue du Mérier-d'Espagne (Mon–Fri lunch only & Sat eve, closed Aug; menus from €15), is also good. Other decent options include the no-nonsense family-run bistro Le Chapon Fin, on place Château-Falaise (tel 04.66.67.34.73; menus from €11.44; closed Sat noon & Sun), and the welcoming Paradis du Couvent, 21 rue du Grand Couvent (tel 04.66.76.26.30; closed Mon off season; menus from €8.99, while the Zarzuela, 2 rue de Monnaie, serves paella and other tasty Spanish fare (tel 04.66.67.36.30; menu at €9). For something a little more extravagant, try La Belle Respire, 12 rue de l'étoile (tel 04.66.21.27.21; closed Wed; around €5), which serves traditional local food, or Ophélie, 35 rue Fresque (tel 04.61.21.00.19; dinner only, closed Sun & Mon, part Feb & Aug; menu at €22), offering imaginative terroir dishes.
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