The best way to see and appreciate this theatre is...

The best way to see and appreciate this theatre is to book a performance here. I have been few years back for a day tour, staff not very helpful, little description in English, and entree tickets high for what you get. At that price, in wonderful Nimes, you get 17 Nimes Pass which includes incredible Romanite museum of antiquities, the fab colliseum style Nimes Arena, the Roman Magne (military) Tower with its panorama, and Maison Carree with a film! So Orange council is certainly milking one of its only 2 or 3 landmarks. The 4 star rating overall is because the arena gets transformed at night for a performance, during July-August annual festival, and it is amazing! Plus if you come when the doors open (most summer concerts start at 2130) you can wonder around and see the theatre for free as it were. I came to see Don Giovanni, a Mozart opera, it was mind blowing, as they project images onto the Theatre stage etc, truly spectacular, and having all those thousands of spectators there, one gets a true appreciation of the venue, how it was in Roman times with its capacity of 9000 seats. Ridiculously for such a festival, full of foreigners, subtitles only in French - I have to mention it because if your Italian is not great, then like Russians not far away from me you will be busy reading up on the opera synopsis to make head or tail of it. If you are not going to a concert during the Choregies Festival, I suggest you go to the top of fab public park called Colline Saint Eutrope (you can easily google walking directions, then when there, ask people which way to the monument or panorama). The view to the Roman Theatre and Orange itself from there is stupendous (see first photo).