The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheatre, situated in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 70 CE, shortly after the Coliseum of Rome, it is one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world.[citation needed] It is 133 meters long (145 yards) and 101 meters wide (110 yards), with an arena measuring 68 meters (74 yards) by 38 meters (32 yards). The outer facade is 21 meters high (69 feet) with two stories of 60 arcades. It is among the 20 largest Roman amphitheatres of the 400 in existence. In Roman times, the building could hold 24,000 spectators, who were spread over 34 tiers of terraces divided into four self-contained zones or maeniana. The arena served as a public event theatre built by the Romans as well as a gladiator fighting arena.