Arles, Roman And Romanesque Monuments

Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888 and spent fifteen months producing some of the most recognisable paintings in Western art. He painted the yellow house he rented, the café terrace he sat at, the hospital where he was treated after cutting off part of his ear, the Roman arena, the Rhone at night. Most of those specific places still exist and are marked on a Van Gogh walking trail. The city understood what it had before van Gogh was famous, which is more than most places can claim.

The Roman City

Arles was a significant Roman capital of Gaul and the ruins are genuinely impressive. The amphitheatre (Les Arènes) dates from the 1st century CE, holds 12,000 spectators, and still hosts bullfights and concerts. You can walk the outer galleries and climb the towers. The Roman Theatre (Théâtre Antique) nearby has two Corinthian columns standing 17 metres tall; the rest of the theatre was used as a quarry for medieval building. Both are open daily.

The Cryptoportiques are underground Roman galleries beneath the forum, constructed in the 1st century BCE as foundations for the civic buildings above. They are cool, well-lit, and eerily preserved.

Saint-Trophime’s Church is Romanesque architecture from the 12th century, with a carved portal considered one of the finest in southern France. The adjacent cloister is quieter than the church and has remarkable carved capitals showing biblical scenes.

The Fondation Van Gogh Arles

The Fondation Van Gogh houses contemporary art responding to van Gogh’s legacy rather than his own work (the originals are in Amsterdam, New York, and Paris). It is a serious institution with consistently good programming and provides the best context for the van Gogh walking trail through the city.

Eating

Arles is in the Camargue region; rice, red-legged partridge, and bull meat are the local specialities alongside the standard Provençal produce. The Wednesday and Saturday markets in the Lices square are among the best in Provence. Les Platanes on the Boulevard des Lices is a reliable traditional choice for a sit-down lunch.

Getting There

Arles is 30 minutes by TGV from Marseille, 35 minutes from Nimes. By car from Avignon (30 km) or Montpellier (75 km) the approach through the Camargue flatlands is the right way to arrive.