Arles, France

Just north of Aix-en-Provence is the charming tourist destination village of Arles. Occupied first by Celtic tribes, then by a Greek colony, Arles became Roman when Julius Caesar gives the colony to the veterans of his legions. It became one of the Roman Empire's most important cities and religious center. Destroyed and ravaged by invasions during the Middle Ages, Arles was rebuilt during the 12th century. The magnificence of its medeival monuments is evidence to the vitality and wealth of that period. Arles has an extraordinary well-preserved Roman arena, Les Arènes, which is located in the city center and backed by an impressive variety of sother stones and monuments from the Roman and medieval era. Arles was also made famous by painters Van Gogh and Gaugin in the late nineteenth century. The area around Arles is famous for its natural beauty, especially in the Camargue. Arles is today a staid and conservative place, but comes to life for the Saturday market, which brings in throngs of farmers from the surrounding countryside, and during the various festivals of tauromachie between Easter and All Saints, when the town's frenzy for bulls rivals that of neighboring Nimes.



Les Arènes is the most important Roman monument of the old Roman colony. The amphitheatre's architecture is entirely conceived in keeping with its role as a place for important events and accommodating a large audience. The Roman area stands at the quiet heart of historic Arles and is the most visited monument in the city. The amphitheater of Arles occupies the twentieth place among those of the Roman world. It has the shape of an ellipse. The facade is made up of two levels of sixty full-curve arcades, separated by massive rectangular supporting walls. A broader opening emphasizes the ends of the two axes of the monument. Much damage has been done over the years to its structure; it was even largely dismantled in the 1820's to be used as building stone and in the 12th century was turned into a walled village. The medieval towers at each end are a relic of that time when there were 200 houses and even a church within the arena. The main entrance was not in the north like today, but on the west side where the remains of a staircase towards the city can be seen. The initial capacity of the monument is considered to be some 20,000 people. To allow visitors to reach the various terraces, a clever system of circular galleries, horizontal passages and alternatively laid out staircases had been developed. Enough remains of this circle of ancient walls, corridors and steps to be an awesome sight. The arena is still used for bullfights and performances.

Near the arena on Rue de la Calade is the large Théâtre Antique, or Roman theatre. Only the bare bones have survived thanks to years of destruction as the stonework was gradullay removed to build houses and churches. All that remains are two columns of the stage wall and twenty rows of seats. Even this remnant creates a powerful impression. The theatre ruins are used for concerts, drama and the July folklore festival. Most of the relics brought to light during excavation can be seen in the Musée d'Art Païen - the most important of these is the "Venus of Arles", a representation of the goddess Diana, which was discovered near a fountain in 1651 and is now in the Louvre in Paris.



Arles is closely connected with the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. It was the luminosity that attracted Van Gogh to the south of France. The Dutch painter, Van Gogh, arrived in Arles in February 1888 looking for the outside light but also seeking an interior illumination. Here he started a period of intense and impassioned work under the bright sunny sky of Provence. His stay in Arles was the most productive period of his life : the more than 300 paintings and drawings done in his 15 months here form one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of art. Even though there are no original paintings by Van Gogh in the city, the shadow of his presence is everywhere. Just off the Rue du Forum is the Place du Forum and the Café at Night, still there almost as Vincent painted it over three balmy days in September 1888. This place evokes a great sense of theatre and reflection. Still operational today and now named Café Van Gogh, most visitors part with their dollars to have at least one drink in the Van Gogh café.

After cutting his ear, Van Gogh was admitted to a hospital, which has now become the Espace Van Gogh. It stands opposite the Museon Arlaten, and still has the garden seen in his painting Jardin de L'Hopital a Arles. The 16th C. building has been made into a cultural center and equipped as a "School of Books".

A short drive northeast of Arles is the ruined town of Les Baux-de-Provence, situated in the extreme west of Provence on the southern edge of the Alpilles. This unique ruined citadel occupies the high stony plateau which rises above the Lower Town. The entire place can be visited only on foot; parking is available outside the entrance to the Lower Town. This medieval fortress village receives up to one million visitors a year and has almost no permanent residents. The dominant feature is the gaunt and impressive walled enclosure of the medieval citadel whose ruins occupy most of the site. Inside the enclosed area are about a dozen buildings still standing, including a 13th centruy keep and other medieval towers, an olive musueum, a chapel and a pigeon house cut out of the rock. Les Baux has little to offer except atmospheric alleys and exceptional views across Vallon de la Fontaine to the hills all around.