A Trip to Arles - van Gogh, Roman Ruins, and More • Our Home in Carcassonne

A Trip to Arles – van Gogh, Roman Ruins, and More

December 26, 2019 | Leave a Comment

A trip to Arles — Vincent van Gogh, Roman ruins, colorful markets, and a comfy, walkable town. Welcome to beautiful Provence. Arles is an easy 2.5 hour train or car trip from Carcassonne — perfect for a two-day getaway, or as a base to explore so much more of Provence.*

Arels Roman Arena exterior view — Arles Roman Arena

Carrières de Lumières

Two weekends ago, our friends David and Mike and I took a trip to Arles to see the Carrières de Lumières van Gogh exhibit before it leaves in January (more on that in a later post, but here’s a preview photo). (Sadly, Jeff stayed home with a cold, so I can’t wait to take a trip to Arles with Jeff in spring!)

van Gogh Sunflowers at Arles Carrieres de lumieres — It’s amazing to see Vincent’s paintings come to life in this limestone quarry’s 3-dimensional space.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh spent 18 months in Arles, and it’s incredibly moving to walk in his footsteps and see some of the beautiful places that inspired some of the nearly 200 paintings that he created while here. (Toward the bottom of this post, I’ve put a link to the list of his Arles paintings.) Unfortunately, and ironically, only a very few of his Arles paintings are here. But the city has paid tribute to him and his Arles works by setting up easels throughout the town right where he created some of his best-loved paintings.

Café at Night Easel

Easel showing van Gogh's painting Cafe at Night in front of the actual cafe — Easel showing Vincent’s beloved *Café at Night* painting, and the café itself, on Forum Square.

The Roman Arena Easel

Vincent van Gogh's painting Arena — Vincent’s painting *Arena –* he focuses on the people much more than the spectacle of the bull fight. But even so, you can see the bull in the Arena.

The Roman Arena (Amphithéâtre)

Vibeke in the Arles Roman Arena (Amphithéâtre)

Arles Roman Arena with David and Mike — David and Mike in Arles Roman Arena

The Arles Roman Arena, 2000 years old and amazingly well preserved, held 20,000 people, and like other arenas throughout the Roman world (think of the Colosseum in Rome), was used for gladiator fights against wild animals and each other, to keep the masses entertained. Arles’ Arena is still used today for concerts and bullfights (most of the year the bull isn’t killed in French bullfights).

Classical Roman Theater (Théâtre Antique)

Right across from the Arena is the Classical Roman Theater, which of course is also 2000 years old. For 500 years, ancient Romans gathered here for entertainment. It seated 10,000 people back then, and today seats 2,000 for concerts and other events.

Exterior of Arles' Classical Roman Theater — Exterior of Arles’ Classical Roman Theater

Espace van Gogh Easel

Vincent was admitted to this hospital in Arles in 1888, and loved painting its flowery courtyard. His kind doctor allowed him to leave the hospital during the day to paint, but the trade off was that Vincent had to sleep at the hospital at night.

Easel showing Vincent's painting of his hosptial's gardens, and the actual gardens where he created this painting — Easel showing Vincent’s painting of the Arles hospital courtyard.

Ward of Arles Hospital, another of his paintings

van Gogh painting Ward of Arles Hosptial — van Gogh’s painting *Ward of Arles Hosptial*

St. Trophime Church

St. Trophime Cloisters

Our next stop: the St. Trophime Cloisters for the peaceful cloisters themselves…

Nativity Scenes

And, for a little holiday season fun, we also enjoyed the Cloisters’ 62^nd annual display of at least 100 handmade nativity scenes. My favorites were the ones where, to celebrate Jesus’ birth, entire villages showed up with all kinds of food, wine, and other revelry making delights.

The next was one of my favorite Arles discoveries. We walked along the Rhône River, and just by luck we arrived at the next easel, Starry Night over the Rhône, just as the sun was going down. So we had the treat of seeing the river as it may have looked just as Vincent was setting up his easel to capture the river’s night time magic. Vincent was the very first to paint outside after dark.

Vincent van Gogh Starry Night over the Rhone — Vincent’s painting *Starry Night Over the Rhône*

Here’s what we saw. A true gift.

From Starry Night over the Rhône, it was a one-minute walk to our last easel for the night, Vincent’s beloved “The Yellow House.” Vincent rented the yellow house when he first arrived in Arles in February, 1888. The yellow house is the little building in the front with the green door and green shutters. The house isn’t there any more, but the four story building behind it still is, as is the railroad bridge to the right of the painting.

It’s Time for Wine!

We were chilly after our walk, so we stopped into a very classy wine bar, Le Buste et L’Oreille Bar a Vins (3 rue du President Wilson, near the Espace van Gogh Easel) for some wine tasting and buying. Beautiful place, and they also have light nibbles to enjoy with your wine dégustation (tasting).

Then back to the Roman Arena in its night lights….

Arles Roman Arena at night, five steps away from our Hotel

And to our hotel, Hotel le Calendal, right next door to the Arena and the Roman Theater – perfect location!

Hotel le Calendal at Night — Hotel le Calendal at night, just a few steps away from the Arena

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also enjoy reading Nimes: A Day Trip from Carcassonne, or Three Days in Avignon.

*Provence

Arles is a perfect home base for your Provençale travels, for day trips to Avignon, Orange, Pont du Gard, Aix-en-Provence, Nîmes and so many small Provençale villages.

Practicalities

December was a wonderful time to take a trip to Arles. Temperatures were in the 50s, and we avoided the sweltering heat, tourists and crowds of summer. And we had our beautiful Provençale blue skies above us.

Hotel le Calendal

Excellent location, just steps away from the Roman Arena (Amphithéâtre) and Classical Roman Theater
It has a spa (but we didn’t go)
94 euros per night in low season (December)
About 140 euros per night in summer season (but check with the hotel)
Parking: Park at the Parking des Lices (Du Center). It’s a 5 minute walk up the stairs and up the little hill to the hotel. Bring your parking ticket to the hotel — the hotel will exchange it for a less expensive parking ticket, so your overnight parking will be about 12 euros.
Arles also has a train station, just a 10-minute walk from the center.

Market Days

Arles markets are on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Don’t miss the Saturday market! It’s a three-minute walk from Hotel le Calendal (it’s right at Parking des Lices.)

Discounts

If you’re staying overnight in Arles, ask your hotelier for a bracelet. This will give you discount tickets for the main sights. With our bracelets, the Liberty Pass – which we bought at the Arena – cost 9 euros (valid for one month) and gave us entrance into many of the city’s sights – Arena, Roman Theater, Cloisters, and several museums. I love the fact that the pass is valid for a month!

Dining

Forum Square (Place du Forum, the site of Arles’ Roman Forum) offers many dining choices, and David and Mike tell me that in summer, the square is filled with outdoor dining tables. We chose Bistrot Artésian, close to the café in Café at Night. On a corner of the square there are two Roman Columns, the only remains of the entrance to the Roman Forum.

Vincent’s Arles Paintings

Here’s a list of the paintings that Vincent created during his 18 months in Arles.