Provence
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Provence - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Arènes
Rivaled only by the even better-preserved version in Nîmes, the arena dominating old Arles was built in the 1st century AD to seat 21,000 people, with large tunnels through which wild beasts were forced to run into the center. Before being plundered in the Middle Ages, the structure had three stories of 60 arcades each; the four medieval towers are testimony to a transformation from classical sports arena to feudal fortification. Complete restoration of the arena began in 1825. Today it's primarily a venue for the traditional spectacle of the corridas, which take place annually during the féria pascale, or Easter festival. The less bloodthirsty local variant course carmarguaise (in which the bull is not killed) also takes place here. Festival season starts with the Fête des Gardians on May 1, when the Queen of Arles is crowned, and culminates in early July with the award of the Cocarde d'Or (Golden Rosette) to the most successful raseteur. It's best to book event tickets in advance.
24 bis, Rond Point des Arènes, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–18–41–20-for arena infoSight Details
Rate Includes: €9, includes admission to Théâtre Antique -
2. Espace Van Gogh
The hospital to which the tortured van Gogh repaired after cutting off his earlobe is a strikingly resonant site. Its courtyard has been impeccably restored and landscaped to match one of van Gogh's paintings. The cloistered grounds have become something of a shrine for visitors, and there is a photo plaque comparing the renovation to some of the master's paintings, including Le Jardin de la Maison de Santé. The exhibition hall is open for temporary shows; the garden is always on view.
Pl. Dr. Félix Rey, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–18–41–20Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
3. Luma Arles
This arts center focuses on the pioneers of contemporary art and culture, bringing together sculpture, painting, dance, philosophy, literature, gastronomy, sustainability, and design. It has several spaces used for cutting-edge exhibitions and workshops geared toward art lovers and the curious of all ages, and its Frank Gehry building, a twisting silo sheathed in glittering silver scales, is spectacular.
45 ch. des Minimes, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–88–65–83–09Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. -
4. Cloître St-Trophime
This peaceful haven, one of the loveliest cloisters in Provence, is tucked discreetly behind St-Trophime, the notable Romanesque treasure. A sturdy walkway above the Gothic arches offers good views of the town.
Off Pl. de la République, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–18–41–20Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6 -
5. Cryptoportiques
Entering through the elegant 17th-century City Hall, you can gain access to these ancient underground passages dating from 30–20 BC. The horseshoe of vaults and pillars buttressed the ancient forum from belowground. Used as a bomb shelter in World War II, the galleries still have a rather ominous atmosphere. Yet openings let in natural daylight and artworks of considerable merit have been unearthed here, adding to the mystery of the site's original function.
Pl. de la République, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–18–41–20Sight Details
Rate Includes: €5 -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Église St-Trophime
Classed as a world treasure by UNESCO, this extraordinary Romanesque church alone would justify a visit to Arles. The side aisles date from the 11th century and the nave from the 12th. The church's austere symmetry and ancient artworks (including a stunning early Christian sarcophagus) are fascinating. But it's the church's superbly preserved Romanesque sculpture on its 12th-century portal, the renovated entry facade, that earns it international respect. Particularly remarkable is the frieze of the Last Judgment, with souls being dragged off to Hell in chains or, on the contrary, being lovingly delivered into the hands of the saints. Christ is flanked by his chroniclers, the evangelists: the eagle (John), the bull (Luke), the angel (Matthew), and the lion (Mark).
Pl. de la République, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, FranceSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
7. Fondation Vincent Van Gogh
Located in the beautifully restored 15th-century Hôtel Léautaud de Donines, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh houses a superb collection of contemporary art and hosts temporary art exhibitions, concerts, and other cultural events. Originally conceived in the mid-1980s in response to the 100th anniversary of the artist's arrival in Arles, the Fondation pays homage to van Gogh's legacy and monumental influence via an impressive range of artworks contributed by 90 contemporary artists. Van Gogh's 15-month stay in Arles represented a climax in the artist's career. Enchanted with Arles's limpid light, vibrant landscape, and scenic monuments, van Gogh experienced here what was to be his greatest blossoming as a painter in a decade .
View Tours and Activities35 rue du Docteur Fanton, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–93–08–08Sight Details
Rate Includes: From €10 -
8. Les Alyscamps
Although the romantically melancholic Roman cemetery lies 1 km (½ mile) southeast of the Old Town, it's worth the hike—certainly van Gogh thought so, as several of his famous canvases prove. This long necropolis amassed the remains of the dead from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Greek, Roman, and Christian tombs line the shady road that was once the main entry to Arles, the Aurelian Way. The finest stone coffins have been plundered over the centuries, thus no single work of surpassing beauty remains here (they're in the Musée Départmental Arles Antiques). Next to the ruins rise the Romanesque tower and ruined church of St-Honorat, where (legend has it) St-Trophime fell to his knees when God spoke to him.
Allée des Sarcophages, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, FranceSight Details
Rate Includes: €5 -
9. Musée Départemental Arles Antiques
Although it's a hike from the center, this state-of-the-art museum is a good place to start your exploration of Arles. You can learn all about the city in its Roman heyday, from the development of its monuments to details of daily life. The bold, modern triangular structure (designed by Henri Ciriani) lies on the site of an enormous Roman cirque (chariot-racing stadium). The permanent collection includes jewelry, mosaics, town plans, and carved 4th-century sarcophagi. One wing of the museum features a rare intact barge dating from AD 50, as well as a fascinating display illustrating how the boat was meticulously dredged from the nearby Rhône. Seven superb floor mosaics can be viewed from an elevated platform, and you exit via a hall packed with magnificently detailed paleo-Christian sarcophagi. As you leave you will see the belt of St-Césaire, the last bishop of Arles, who died in AD 542 when the countryside was overwhelmed by the Franks and the Roman era met its end. Ask for an English-language guidebook.
Av. de la 1ère Division Française Libre, Presqu'île du Cirque Romain, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–13–31–51–03Sight Details
Rate Includes: €8; free 1st Sun. of month, Closed Tues. -
10. Musée Réattu
Three rooms of this museum, housed in a Knights of Malta priory dating from the 15th century, are dedicated to local painter Jacques Réattu. But the standouts are works by Dufy, Gauguin, and 57 drawings (and two paintings) done by Picasso in 1971—including one delightfully tongue-in-cheek depiction of noted muse and writer Lee Miller in full Arles dress. They were donated to Arles by Picasso himself, to thank the town for amusing him with bullfights.
10 rue Grand Prieuré, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France04–90–49–37–58Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6; free 1st Sun. of month, Closed Mon. -
11. Place de la République
On this broad square, the slender, expressive saints of St-Trophime overlook wide steps that attract sun worshippers and foot-weary travelers. The square is also home to the 17th-century Hôtel de Ville, a noble Italianate landmark by the great Parisian architect François Mansart (as in mansard roofs); a passageway allows you to cut through its graceful vestibule from Rue Balze. The obelisk of Turkish marble once stood in the Gallo-Roman cirque but was hauled to the square in the 18th century.
Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France -
12. Place Lamartine
Stand on the site of van Gogh's residence in Arles—the famous Maison Jaune (Yellow House), which was destroyed by bombs in 1944. The artist may have set up his easel on the Quais du Rhône, just off Place Lamartine, to capture the view that he transformed into his legendary Starry Night. Eight other sites—each featured in one van Gogh canvas or another—are highlighted on the city's ( www.arlestourisme.com) "Arles and Vincent van Gogh" tour, including Place du Forum, the Trinquetaille bridge, Rue Mireille, the Summer Garden on Boulevard des Lices, and the road along the Arles à Bouc canal.
Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France -
13. Pont Van Gogh
He immortalized many everyday objects and captured views still seen today, but van Gogh's famous painting of the Langlois Bridge over the Canal d'Arles à Bouc—on the southern outskirts of Arles, about 3 km (2 miles) from the Old Town—seems to strike a particular chord among locals. Bombed in World War II, the bridge has been restored to its former glory.
Rte. de Port St-Louis, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, France -
14. Théâtre Antique
Directly up Rue de la Calade from Place de la République, are these ruins of a theater built by the Romans under Augustus in the 1st century BC. It's here that the noted Venus of Arles statue, now in the Louvre, was dug up and identified. The theater was once an entertainment venue that held 10,000 people, and is now a pleasant, parklike retreat that's used as a site for the Festival d'Arles, in July and August, and for Les Recontres d'Arles (Photography Festival) from early July to mid-September. Only two columns of the amphitheater's stage walls, one row of arches, and vestiges of the original stone benches remain, as much of the theater's fine local stone was repurposed in early Christian churches.
Rue de la Calade, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13200, FranceSight Details
Rate Includes: €10, includes admission to Arènes
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