Lycée Alphonse Daudet, Historic high school in France

Lycée Alphonse-Daudet occupies a former hospice on Boulevard Victor-Hugo, opposite the Roman arena. Its neoclassical facade, built from 1807 on plans by Charles Durand, has wide ground-floor arcades and a frieze of 120 metopes and triglyphs depicting medicine, charity and trades. A cross-shaped building divides four courtyards, and the corner rotunda carries a clock with zodiac signs and a three-bell carillon.

The building began as a hospice in the 16th century, and its neoclassical facade with wide ground-floor arcades was built from 1807 on plans by Charles Durand, approved by Napoleon Bonaparte. A Palais des Arts project was abandoned in 1881 when the municipality of Ali Margarot moved the boys' lycée here; it opened in 1883 and was enlarged until 1888 by Lucien Feuchère and Alfred Granon de Grolier. It was named after Alphonse Daudet in 1966 and largely listed as a monument historique in 2007.

The school took the name of Alphonse Daudet in 1966 on the initiative of Maurice Gony. Its corner rotunda carries a large clock attributed to Auguste Augière (1887–1889), decorated with the twelve signs of the zodiac, two female allegories by Léopold Mérignargues holding the letters RF, and a miniature of the Roman amphitheatre topped by the Maison Carrée.

The lycée stands on Boulevard Victor-Hugo in central Nîmes, facing the Roman arena and the line of the former city walls, a short walk from the Maison Carrée and Carré d'art. It is a working public school, so the courtyards and buildings are not open to visitors; the corner rotunda with its clock, zodiac arcade and three-bell carillon can be seen from the street.

The corner rotunda facing the arena carries a large clock installed in 1887-1889, attributed to architect Auguste Augière. Its arch shows the twelve signs of the zodiac, two female allegories by Léopold Mérignargues hold the letters RF, and the whole is topped by a miniature of the Roman amphitheatre and the Maison Carrée.