The perfect issues to do in Arles span historical past, meals and extra, however your first impressions will instantly be marked by town’s Roman legacy. In 49 BCE, Arles’ prosperity and political standing rose meteorically when it backed Julius Caesar over his rival Pompey the Nice. Caesar plundered Marseille, which supported the incorrect aspect, and Arles eclipsed Marseille because the area’s main port.

Quickly, its residents have been residing the excessive life, with gladiator fights and chariot races in magnificent open-air theaters which are nonetheless surprisingly intact right now. The town’s 12,000-seat theater and 20,000-seat amphitheater proceed to stage main occasions, together with Arles’ well-known férias, with their controversial bullfights, and avenue events.

Arles can also be well-known for its position within the historical past of artwork. The town boasts some very spectacular (and gleamingly futuristic) artwork museums and it hosts a world-renowned pictures pageant yearly. And, after all, a few of Vincent van Gogh’s most well-known works have been conceived right here. 

You may make Arles your stepping stone into the moist flatlands of the Camargue, roamed by black bulls, white horses and pink flamingos. That is go-slow nation – a timeless wetland chequered with silver salt pans and conventional gardians (cowboys). However maybe the delta’s biggest characteristic is its birdlife – flamingos are the star attraction, however there are numerous different species to identify right here too.

Whether or not you’re stopping for a weekend break, or you’ve the chance to remain some time, listed below are the very best issues to do in beautiful, historic Arles. 

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1. Recognize a grasp painter on the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh

Housed in a listed Fifteenth-century manor that was beforehand used as a financial institution, this van Gogh–themed art museum and non-profit basis is a must-see in your go to to Arles (for the structure in addition to the artwork). Whereas it has no everlasting assortment, it hosts one to 2 wonderful exhibitions every year – at all times with a van Gogh theme and at all times together with a minimum of one high-profile van Gogh masterpiece.

Planning tip: Fondation Vincent Van Gogh is open from 10am to 6pm each day. You may additionally spy commemorative van Gogh work on show across the metropolis. 

2. Stand on the Starry Night time Over the Rhône viewpoint 

You’ll be able to go to the spot the place van Gogh painted one among his most well-known works, Starry Night time Over the Rhône (1888), which is now hanging within the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. It was painted on the financial institution of the Rhône in Arles, only a brief stroll from the “Yellow Home” (which is not standing on account of bombing raids throughout WWII), the place van Gogh was renting rooms on the time. When circumstances are proper, you may see a few of what van Gogh captured within the gloaming mild.

3. Admire the Roman-era Les Arènes d’Arles 

In Roman Gaul, each necessary city had an amphitheater, the place gladiators and wild animals entertained the crowds and met their (normally grisly) ends. Few have survived, however in Arles (as in close by Nîmes), town’s colosseum is essentially intact.

Constructed round 90 CE, this oval-shaped amphitheater stands at 136m (446ft) lengthy, 107m (351ft) large and 21m (68ft) tall. It could have held 21,000 baying spectators in its heyday. The construction has suffered by the centuries, but it surely’s nonetheless extremely evocative of the may and capabilities of Roman civilization.

Planning tip: In addition to exploring on a daytime go to (purchase tickets on arrival), main festivals and night occasions are scheduled all year long. Examine online for dates.

4. Catch a contemporary live performance on the historical Théâtre Vintage

Only a stone’s throw from the colosseum, the Théâtre Antique is a surprise of sleek engineering, constructed on the behest of the unofficial first Roman Emperor, Augustus, within the 1st century BCE. Regardless of a semi-ruinous state introduced on by centuries of pilfering, it nonetheless serves as one among Arles’ premier venues, staging summertime concerts and performs the place moody lighting, seating for 10,000 and a handful of remaining Roman pillars create a magical ambiance. 

5. Descend into the Cryptoportiques

The origins of those fascinating underground chambers, sitting beneath the present metropolis middle, go a minimum of again to the primary Roman colony in Arles in 46 BCE, and almost certainly prolong to even older Greek caverns. It is a splendidly literal tour to take the steps down by 2000 years of historical past from the gleaming administrative coronary heart of recent Arles to vaulted chambers that housed retailers or storage cellars underneath town’s Roman-era discussion board. As a bonus, the cool air beneath floor is a welcome respite in summer season. 

6. Wander the cloisters of St-Trophime

Named for Arles’ semi-mythical first archbishop, this Romanesque-style church, constructed over a Fifth-century basilica, was a cathedral till the bishopric moved to Aix in 1801. Constructed between the twelfth and Fifteenth centuries, it’s thought-about a masterpiece of the Provençal Romanesque type.

Search for the intricately sculpted western portal, topped by a tympanum depicting the Apocalypse (and St Trophime himself, brandishing his crozier). Inside, the treasury accommodates bone fragments of Arles’ bishops. Occasional exhibitions are hosted within the neighbouring cloister, Cloître St-Trophime. 

Planning tip: Tickets to exhibitions within the cloister are bought on the city corridor or the vacationer workplace.

7. Dine at one among Arles’ finest locations to eat

The Place du Discussion board is a good spot for cafe lounging, absorbing the ambiance, and reflecting on the centuries’ price of Arles residents who did the identical. However you may additionally discover an abundance of cafes and bistros with outside seating all through central Arles.

For the very best in Arles eating, head to Monstre, a hip gallery-style restaurant that you just’ll want to order a desk at by telephone – your tastebuds will thanks. Tucked away in a quiet courtyard is the L’Épicerie du Cloître, the place fusion-style tapas is paired with naturally produced wines (there’s additionally a grocery retailer right here in case you’re prepping for a picnic).

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Different cozy choices embody Café de la Roquette, a laid-back spot serving meals and drinks till late, and Le Gibolin, a petit bistro with a altering chalkboard menu that is additionally earned a Bib Gourmand.

8. Spend an arty afternoon at LUMA

In 2021, Arles’ already outsized cultural panorama welcomed a brand new cutting-­edge gallery and arts center. Rising from a defunct railway depot within the metropolis’s southeastern quarter, the LUMA Arles undertaking was funded by the Swiss-based Luma Basis, and it is centered on Frank Gehry’s dramatic La Tour. 

This contemporary landmark rises over town limits, reflecting the altering mild – a metal and glass up to date artwork assertion, and a billionaire-funded funhouse for contemporary creativity. Inside, studios, exhibition and efficiency areas usher in a spangly new imaginative and prescient of the long run.

Planning tip: LUMA is open from 10am to 6pm on daily basis, besides Tuesday; get right here on Envia bus line 1 from the prepare station.

9. Uncover native historical past at Musée Départemental Arles Vintage

This putting cobalt-blue museum perches on the sting of what was once the Roman chariot-racing monitor (hippodrome), simply southwest of central Arles. The gathering of pagan and early Christian finds displayed right here consists of beautiful mosaics and a complete wing dedicated to treasures highlighting Arles’ business and maritime prominence within the historical world. The shows attain again to prehistory, by the arrival of the Greeks in 600 BCE to the Roman interval and past.

Planning tip: From April to November 2025, the museum will likely be closed for renovations; examine the website for updates.

10. See nice trendy artists at Musée Réattu

This very good, 150-year-old art museum, housed in an exquisitely renovated Fifteenth-century Hospitaller priory by the Rhône, appears old school from the surface, however its trendy artwork assortment is actually top-notch. Amongst its holdings are works by 18th- and Nineteenth-century Provençal artists, two work and 57 sketches by Picasso, and works from its namesake painter, Jacques Réattu. It additionally levels splendidly curated cutting-edge non permanent exhibitions.

11. Be taught in regards to the area’s cultural historical past at Museon Arlaten

Arles’ ethnographic museum was based again in 1889 with the intent of documenting the tradition, types and creators of the area. The museum closed for an 11-year redevelopment from 2009 (it went on for longer than anticipated) but it surely reopened as a surprising exhibition house in 2021.

Immediately, you may discover with a multimedia app that showcases the museum’s unbelievable assortment of objects, revealing their secrets and techniques and enhancing the customer expertise as you go by centuries price of Arles’ historical past. 

Planning tip: On the primary Sunday of each month the museum is open without cost.

12. Marvel at Roman civilization on the Thermes de Constantin

These partly preserved Roman baths – listed as a UNESCO World Heritage website for his or her hypocaust under-floor heating system – have been constructed for the personal use of the Emperor Constantine within the 4th century. Whereas a lot of the complicated has been constructed over throughout the centuries, you may nonetheless see the hypocaust and a number of other plunge swimming pools, and get a way of the general class of the development.

Planning tip: Visiting instances differ so examine the Arles Tourism website for opening hours and deliberate closures. 

13. Sip espresso inside a van Gogh portray on the Place du Discussion board

Simply as social, political and non secular life revolved across the discussion board in Roman Arles, so the busy airplane tree–shaded Place du Discussion board nonetheless buzzes with life right now. It’s possible you’ll recognise the discussion board from the intense yellow cafe depicted in Café Terrace at Night time (1888), which lies to the aspect of the principle sq.. Bistros, bars, eating places and ice-cream stands ring the sq. in case you’re searching for refreshment.

14. See the inspiration for van Gogh’s Les Alyscamps

A testomony to the importance of Roman Arles, Les Alyscamps – a grand processional avenue of tombs and sarcophagi – holds greater than 1500 years’ price of corpses, which Roman customized insisted have been buried outdoors town.

Van Gogh and Gauguin each painted this evocative necropolis, on the japanese finish of which stands the marvellously atmospheric, unfinished Eleventh-century St-Honorat chapel. Les Alyscamps is a brief method outdoors the partitions of the previous city of Arles, inside strolling distance of the middle.

15. E-book a bird-watching safari within the Camargue

In case you are not already a hen lover, a visit to the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer will make you one. A 40-minute drive southwest of Arles, this excellent wetland magnificence has greater than 200 species in residence at completely different instances of 12 months.

Observing the surreal great thing about flamingos swooping overhead or flocking collectively on the marshlands from one of many commentary shacks or a vantage level within the deep grass is a kind of life-affirming moments. Flamingos are usually not the one species to get enthusiastic about – herons, egrets and storks additionally name the wetlands house, as do birds of prey similar to hawks and falcons 

Planning tip: To totally admire the majesty of this nature reserve and its inhabitants, deliver binoculars or an extended digital camera lens.

16. See the work of nice photographers on the Les Rencontres d’Arles pageant

Arles has lengthy been synonymous with the humanities, and its pictures college, the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie, is well one of many world’s finest. Yearly, between July and September, town welcomes Les Rencontres d’Arles – an annual pictures pageant that started in 1970. The pageant celebrates huge names you’ve got in all probability heard of earlier than, in addition to numerous new expertise, and it has the artwork world partying till daybreak in the course of the pageant’s huge “Night time of the 12 months” celebrations.

17. Experience historic reenactments on the Arelate Pageant

The Arelate Festival is an all-encompassing – and principally free – celebration of town’s distinguished Roman historical past. Far more than simply an overblown fancy gown get together, it’s a daring acknowledgement of Arles’ heritage and the way historical tradition continues to form town right now.

Each August, the entire of Arles is reworked, and its illustrious Roman monuments come alive with historic reenactments. The streets grow to be a theater, as gladiators race chariots and slay it out within the area, whereas discovered archaeologists and historians host seminars, historical recipes are dished out, and outside screenings of Roman-themed films hold households engrossed.

18. Style the cowboy life within the Camargue

The Camargue’s gardians (mounted cow herders) have a mystique to rival the gauchos of Argentina, and it is simple to get a style of cowboy life within the Camargue. If time is proscribed, head to Domaine de la Palissade (a distant nature centre, round 45km south of Arles) for a half-day horse-riding experience with well-informed guides. First-timers can get pleasure from a mild trot, whereas skilled riders can minimize unfastened and gallop down the recent sands.

For a correct style of Camargue cowboy life, ebook your self onto a week-long course with the Manade Salierène horse-riding college, which incorporates using classes, lodging, and meals with the household of the manadier (herder).

Planning tip: Languages spoken at native using faculties embody English, Spanish, Italian and, after all, French. 

19. Day journey to one among France’s most celebrated villages: Les Baux-de-Provence 

Clinging precariously to an historical limestone baou (the Provençal time period for “rocky spur”) within the Alpilles mountains, this fortified hilltop village is taken into account one of many nation’s most stunning. It’s simple to know its reputation – slim cobbled, car-free streets wind previous historical homes as much as a splendid ruined castle.

The clifftop fortress’s dramatic, maze-like towers and dungeons date from the tenth century and are nicely price exploring. The chilly galleries of the Carrières de Lumières, in a former limestone quarry to the north of the fortress, are one other high attraction; large projections illuminate the partitions, ground and ceiling, accompanied by an informative voice-over and swelling music. 

Planning tip: Les Baux-de-Provence is just a 35-minute drive from Arles, however parking here’s a problem. Ideally, arrive by public transport, or get right here very early within the day.

This text was tailored from Lonely Planet’s France guidebook, printed in Could 2024.