"Arles & Provence: Van Gogh, Wine and... " a Arles Travel Page by davequ

above: a snap with my back to the Arena facing into the heart of old Arles looking N/NW in the direction of the Rhone.

Every time I go to France, before I hit Paris, I make a 3-5 day side trip into the Provence, with Arles as a home base.

Highlights:

- The city of Arles & the surrounding towns in and around the Provence (Nimes, St. Remy/Glanum, Orange, Aix-en-Provence) have stunning ancient Roman architecture and ruins.

- Arles was the inspiration for many of Van Gogh's paintings, and he painted almost 200 Arles scenes.
Gauguin stayed and painted with Vincent at the "yellow house" in Arles which has been restored from bombing in WWII.



- And I love Provence food (beureuuupppp!!!)


But Arles is more than a boring history lesson / travelogue. To me, it is a great "mood"
best enjoyed by wandering the old city at all hours.

Other fun things to do in Arles/Provence:

I like to rent a car or motorcycle and drive an hour north on smaller sideroads to Chateauneuf du Pape, home of some of my favorite wine in all of France, along with many other Cotes du Rhones.

I try never to miss "Market Day" in Arles every Wednesday and Saturday. I have some Market Day fotos here:
Market Day

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Day and late-night (recommended) walks through the old alleys of Arles are one of my favorite things to do.
I just wander, turn randomly down each narrowing passage, and try to get lost.

There is a surprise around every corner.

One of my favorite places to sit quietly and enjoy is the Antique Theater,
just about 100 meters downhill west from the Roman Arena.

In the mid-afternoon around 14:30 it seems there is usually a lull in activity
and tourist traffic.

I like to take this time to sit near the ruins in the cool shade of the southwest corner of the theater behind the stage and let the history & surroundings sink in.
It is so peaceful.