Must-SeeMarseille
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
About 45 miles away
France's oldest city, a Mediterranean port with the white limestone inlets of the Calanques on its edge.
Full Guide
Arles
A Roman city on the Rhône, with an arena still in use and the streets Van Gogh painted.
- Open
- Always; monuments keep their own hours
- Price
- Free; paid for the monuments, with a pass for all
- Time Needed
- A day
- Address
- Rond-point des Arènes, 13200 ArlesDirections
- Getting There
- About 20 minutes by train from Avignon.
Why Go
The two-tiered arena, built around 90 AD for 20,000 spectators, still hosts bullfights and concerts, and the Roman theater, baths and underground galleries lie nearby. Van Gogh lived here in 1888 and 1889 and painted more than 300 works, from the café terrace to the hospital garden. A twisting steel tower by Frank Gehry now rises over the old rail yards.
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