Museon Arlaten (Museum of Arles)

Museon Arlaten (Museum of Arles) Review

This quirky old museum plunges you right into post-Roman Arles. Created by the father of the Provençal revival, turn-of-the-20th-century poet Frédéric Mistral, it enshrines a seemingly bottomless collection of regional treasures ranging from 18th-century furniture and ceramics to a mixed-bag collection of toothache-prevention cures. There are spindled-oak bread boxes (mounted high on the wall like bird cages); bizarre traditional talismans (a ring fashioned from the third nail of a horseshoe to ward off hemorrhoids); the signature Arlésienne costumes, with their pretty shoulder scarves crossed at the waist; dolls and miniatures; an entire Camargue gardian hut, with reconstructed interior; and dioramas with mannequins—tiny tableaux of Provençal life. Following Mistral's wishes, women in full Arlésienne costume oversee the labyrinth of lovely 16th-century halls.