Arles

Rick Steves describes Arles as his favored base although less cosmopolitan than Avignon. Certainly a lot of things to see and we barely touched the surface of possibilities here. Jan got to see a Coliseum up close as she missed out in Rome, this one with a framework of sold blocks rather than brick filled with concrete. We also found a few of the Van Gogh 'spots'

In the 6th century BC, the Greeks colonized the region. Under the Roman thumb, Arles thrived and surpassed its rival Marseille. Its glory started in the 1st century BC and lasted until the 5th. The town was a hub in the interconnecting land and water ways, a port of importance (then the sea came much closer than it does now) and a center of Provençal culture. After the fall of the Roman empire, Arles languished and declined. The Roman structures fell into disarray, their stones used for Christian churches and monasteries. Today, the Arenes remains, but the theatre is more of a ruin: only two columns remain. In the 12th century Arles had a strong revival, magnificently shown by the church of St Trophime. Its portal is rich in splendid carvings.

One element of Arles' history is of great interest: Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch painter spent just fifteen, dramatic, months in this town and made 200 paintings here, the locations of some of which are marked with plaques.

On the outskirts of town is Montmajour Abbey but we only viewed it from outside as accessibility looked limited, and there were many other stops to make today. We did drive through a charming town called FontveilleRead more