Amazing Arles – 7 Things We Loved

Amazing Arles – 7 Things We Loved

Arles is located in Provence, France; about a 4 hour train ride south of Paris.  As with many parts of Europe the Celts were among the early residents. Then the Romans took over in 123 BC. The town gained prominence when it sided with Julius Caesar and the city became a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I, who built baths here which are still standing.

In medieval times the city went back and forth between Arabs and Christians. Today, it’s a city of about 52,000…one of the largest cities in Provence. Surprisingly to me, Arles residents do not speak pure French. Instead, they speak Occitan, a dialect that is easily understood by nearby Catalonians.

We visited Arles in July during a record-setting heat wave, yet still managed to fall in love with the city and surrounding country side.  Independently, the two of us made a list of our favorite things about Arles.  We then compared them and the lists matched exactly!  Without further ado and in no particular order, here are 7 things we love about Arles!

Roman Ruins

The Romans have made their presence known in this city since the first century AD, when Julius Caesar added Arles to his empire and made it the capital of Provence.  One of the most impressive artifacts left behind is a Roman Arena.  Originally built for 25,000 spectators, this arena is still in use today for the Course Camarguaise, Arles-style bullfights.  What a thrill to watch the bullfights in a 2000 year old Roman arena!

Another impressive monument left behind by the Romans is the Baths of Constantine.  Built in the 4th century as a part of Constantine’s Imperial Palace these baths were part of a structure measuring 40,000 square feet! Today, only about a third of the structure remains, but it is still impressive and with amazing brick and concrete work plainly visible.  We loved sitting in the cool shade in the baths and admiring the engineering and workmanship of the ancient Romans.

During our stay we also visited several other Roman antiquities including a theater (still in use today), Saint Trophime’s Church, an ancient cemetery, an underground portion of the Roman Forum and vestiges of a Roman Circus where chariot races were held.

Day Tour of Provence

Almost any guide book about Provence shows a field of gorgeous lavender and we timed our visit to coincide with the lavender harvest.  A quick visit to the Tourist Information Center in Arles resulted in us booking an all day tour of Provence including visits to a lavender factory and lavender fields.

Provence is steeped in history and has some of the earliest artifacts of man dating back more than 1 million years ago! The area is known for its cave paintings dating to 27,000 BC and farther back. It’s more modern history dates back to the Celts in the 8th century BC and the Greeks in the 7th. The Romans came around the 2nd century BC and Christians started coming in around the 3rd century AD. I could tell you so much more but you get the idea. Today, Provence, which includes the French Riviera, is known worldwide for its sunny weather, colorful countryside, and of course for its wine and food. 

Our tour started the next day where we were picked up in Arles by our guide/driver Jerome. Our first stop was Avignon, where we picked up our companions for the tour: two Scots, a young woman from Brazil, a young woman from England and a Catalonian from Pennsylvania. Yes, from Pennsylvania! Even though she was from Spain she could understand the local dialect since it’s very similar to Catalonian.

By the way, Avignon might sound familiar to you because it’s famous from when the papacy moved there in 1309. 7 popes reigned there for 70 years. (I’m starting to think I could write a book of French history!)  And, if you took French way back when, you might also recall the French song, “Sur le Pont d’Avignon”.  I learned that song when I was in 7th grade and finally I got to see what remained of that bridge!

Our tour took us through several villages including Fontaine de Vaucluse, famous for its spring-fed fountain and for the being the residence of the poet Petrach.  Shortly after we stopped at the Lavender Museum in Cabrières-d’Avignon.  Here we saw our first lavender field and we watched demonstrations on how lavender is harvested and processed for oil.  We also learned that most of the lavender we see and use is actually a hybrid and “true” lavender fields are hard to find!

Next up was Bonnieux and it was market day.  The very hilly streets were lined with stalls selling every product of Provence that you can imagine…olives, baskets, and every kind of cheese you can imagine, including lavender cheese.  It was all quite festive and fun!

From there we headed to Roussillon via backroads.  We were rocketing on the road when all of a sudden a giant oak tree came into view.  And then one of my favorite things on the tour happened.  As we approached the tree we saw a car parked about 100 meters from it and beside the car was a man sitting on a stool in front of a canvass on an easel!  What an iconic scene for Provence!  Perhaps this painter is the next Van Gogh or Cezanne or even Picasso!  I will never forget this scene!

We didn’t go into Roussillon; instead, our driver Jerome continued on backwoods roads and suddenly pulled off the side of the road telling us to get out; we were taking a walk!  Off he went into the woods and off we followed like the good tourists we were.  As we walked we spotted patches of yellow dirt and suddenly we were in a clearing facing pillars of yellow ochre.  These were mines, used since prehistoric times, used to gather the natural pigment used by cavemen to paint the walls of their homes.  More recently the ochre was mined commercially in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Our day was now half over, but we had much more to discover!  

We lunched in the village of Gordes, famous for its high walls to keep out the wolves and then continued on to the Senanque Abbey. Established in 1147 and later designed using Da Vinci’s Golden Ratio; this abbey has been made famous by photos of its lavender fields.  Then it was finally time to see the famous “real” lavender fields near the top of Mont Ventoux.

We finally found our lavender field just outside the village of Aurel.  Here, in the higher elevations the native lavender flourishes, providing those incredible fields of well…lavender.  We wander through the rows, filling our noses with the glorious scent and thrilling at the constant humming of bees.  We spent about an hour in the fields and Mona even took the time to befriend a butterfly who stayed with her throughout the visit.  Finally, mission accomplished, we had visited the lavender fields of Provence!

Our tour lasted just over 8 hours and it was glorious!  Note that originally, I planned to rent a car and simply drive through Provence and by the end of the day I was so glad I didn’t. Not only are the roads winding up and down the mountains with virtually no guard rails… there are also Frenchmen seemingly practicing for the Monte Carlo; racing along the roads that are too narrow for one car, much less two. However, if we go back I plan to rent a car and spend a week or so just wandering from village to village in the area.  Maybe I’ll even buy an easel and try out painting by that old oak tree!

La Camargue

The Rhone River splits in two at Arles and one branch, the Petite Rhone flows to the southwest and the other branch, Grand Rhone, flows to the southeast before reaching the Mediterranean. Between these two Rhones lies La Camargue…a triangle of land, marshes and birds.

The area has been settled for thousands of years and men were mining salt from the coastline since prehistoric times.  That salt was also the primary source of wealth for medieval abbeys in the area.  These days, La Camargue is known for its rice, bulls and white horses.

The Camargue horse is an ancient breed of horse indigenous to the this area in southern France. Its origins remain relatively unknown, although it is generally considered one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world. There are about 40,000 of these unique horses in the Camargue. These gray horses are born brown and take three years to fully mature to gray. After their first year they are set free to roam the wilds for two years. They are then taken in to be trained to be the mount for the guardians, the Camargue “cowboys”. During their wild years they self-learn to swim underwater with their nostrils closed! 

There are also about 10,000 bulls here. 9000 are the Camargue bulls whose destiny is the Course Camarguaise. These bulls will be in the ring from the age of 6 to 15, when they will be retired and left to live out their lives in the pastures. The other 1000 bulls are Spanish bulls, fated to fight only once and then die in the bullring.

Our Camarge visit began at the Tourist Information Office in Arles.  There we boarded a Jeep safari vehicle along with two Germans, three Italians and our driver Michel. Michel is a guardian from the Camargue so he was a perfect tour guide.  Almost as soon as we entered the Camarage our tour happened upon a group of guardians preparing to go out the marshes to bring in some bulls.  We got to touch the horses and talk to the guardians about their life and their horses…mainly their horses. 

Michel then drove us to Les Saintes-Maries, a small village on the Mediterranean.  There we had coffee at a small cafe then had free time to wander the village.  Our barista told us that there were “many gypsies” at Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer so we wandered to the church.  The square outside the church was packed with people in traditional garb.  In front of the church were four mounted guardians.  It felt as though we had stepped back two or three centuries in time!

Soon, we were headed back to Arles.  Along the way we saw huge gatherings of flamingos (called flamboyances) along with many more bulls and horses…most just making themselves comfortable along the road and in the marches.

We loved our introduction to the horses and bulls of the Camargue and will forever remember meeting those horses and guardians in person!

Our AIRBNB

One of the reasons we enjoyed our stay in Arles was the AIRBNB flat that we rented on Rue Saverien, about a half block from the Rhone.  It was a 17th century building located in the quiet residential district of Roquette, but still near the markets and sights. This neighborhood was built centuries before cars were invented so the streets are very narrow and it’s laid out in a herringbone pattern with many blind deadends.  It was fun to always take a different path on our walks so that we could be continually surprised by new sights.

The flat was very clean and graciously appointed with virtually everything we could need for our visit.  There was even some coffee and wine waiting to greet us!  We used the kitchen for a few meals, but we dined out most of the time.  As mentioned above, we visited during a heat wave in which daily temperatures reached 100°F every day.  The flat was not air-conditioned but had a couple of vertical fans which kept us nicely cooled.

Our neighborhood was within easy walking distance of markets, sights and restaurants.  It felt “so French” to be able to walk to and from a market with our daily wine and bread!  Our flat was our hub for our walks and we enjoyed greeting the neighbors every day.

Saturdays there is an open market about 5 blocks from our flat.  The market stalls were jammed with people buying items from bread to dishes to shoes.  This is also where I finally got my iconic photo of a man walking home with his loaves of bread.

The neighborhood is also home to several cats.  My wife would always stop to greet them and often their owners came out to talk to her.  It was just that kind of neighborhood!

The Food!

Arles is of course in Provence and so Provencal cooking is the norm here.  That means there is lots of good olive oil, rice from the Camarge, herbs, including lavender, and the best meat and seafood from the area.  This isn’t fancy food like in Paris; instead this is great food cooked with love and pride.

We usually had a bite to eat for breakfast in the flat.  All the rest of our meals were from restaurants within walking distance.  Neither of us had a dish that we did not love.  Everything was amazing and relatively inexpensive.  (We were in Paris the week before this visit so we know how high priced French food can be!)

Our most memorable meal was in a small plaza about 3 bocks from our flat.  There we saw a huge pan being filled with mussels outside a small shop, La Placette  We learned that this (the cooking mussels) was the menu for that shop for the evening; however, it would be awhile before the they were done.  It was a beautiful evening so we took a table to wait…with wine of course.  What an aroma and what a delight to sit outside with all these locals!

Finally our huge pans of mussels were delivered to us.  Served only with crusty French bread and crisp wine, these mussels were the best we’ve ever had!  The mussels along with the tomato burrata salad made for one of the best meals of our 5 country trip!

Another favorite of many favorites was the Cafe Factory Republique on the Rue de la Republique.  On our first visit we were warmly greeted and shook hands with the owner (Giles) before we were seated. We were then given a carafe of water and a little time to read the menu on the wall. Actually, the wall didn’t matter as we saw a wonderful salad delivered to another customer and immediately we knew what we wanted…the salmon salad! It comes with perfectly cooked salmon, a salad and frites…and it’s simply wonderful! The salmon has a pesto-like sauce on it and it comes with a mustard sauce that is heavenly!  We dined here three times and each time the greeting from Giles became warmer and warmer!  You don’t feel like a customer here…you feel like a friend or family! It’s such a highly personal experience that is so rare, but so wonderful.

I could write paragraph after paragraph of the wonderful dining we experienced in Arles.  We chose some restaurants by reading reviews and others we just chose randomly…all were excellent!  So much incredible food and so little time!

Van Gogh

The famous impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh lived in Arles for about 18 months from 1888 to 1889. HIs actual destination was Marseilles but he found the perfect light and Provencal colors in Arles so he stayed.  While in Arles he painted over 300 paintings, mainly harvest and still lifes and of course, sunflowers. Arles is also where Van Gogh decided to concentrate on sowers (those who plant crops) and you can see that theme in many of his paintings.

In October of 1889, Paul Gauguin came to visit Van Gogh, but the two artists’ personalities clashed and they never realized their dream of establishing an artist collection.  In December came Van Gogh’s first mental breakdown and he cut off a piece of his left ear while in the local hospital.  He had another breakdown in February and went back into the hospital.  Later that year in May 1889 Van Gogh had himself voluntarily admitted to the asylum in Saint-Remy.

Arles still very much celebrates Van Gogh: shops and restaurants bear his name and here is located the Foundation Vincent van Gogh, dedicated to his works and legacy.  (Note: we visited the Foundation and there were only four or five of Van Gogh’s works on display at the time.)  But what we liked most was the Van Gogh City Walk.  This self-guided and free tour takes you to sites that Van Gogh painted.  At each site is a reproduction of Van Gogh’s painting placed exactly where Van Gogh would have painted it from.  It was exciting to stand in the very spot where he painted the scenes and to see how he translated what he was seeing into his art!

Le Course Camarguaise

As mentioned above, The Course Camarguaise is Arles-style bullfights held in the ancient Roman Arena.  These bullfights are VERY different from the Spanish bullfights in that the bulls always win here!  Here, the announcers call out the bulls’ names instead of their human opponents. Here, the bulls are the celebrities! In fact, the best bulls live long and happy lives and several of them are immortalized in statues throughout the area.

The temperature was about 100° Fahrenheit when we entered the arena.  We were early and found seats in the shade and with a cool breeze.  It was a festive atmosphere with music and vendors hawking their wares.   Suddenly, the gates opened at the end of the arena and in marched the raseteurs!  (I can’t find a direct translation of this word, but I’m assuming it’s something like “racers”.) There are about 40 of them and these are the young men who will face the bulls.  Soon the march is over and the games begin!

A trumpet heralds the first of six bulls to be released and several raseteurs come out to face him.  Several of the raseteurs charge the bull to tease him and get him to charge.  As the bull charges the raseteur runs away and at the same time he reaches back to capture one of the prizes tied to the bulls head!  The prizes are ribbons and tassels and each has a different point level.

Most times the gap between the charging bull and the fleeing raseteur is just a few centimeters and the raseteur cannot slow down just because there is a wall just ahead!  Instead, the raseteur flings himself over the first wall and high onto the second wall.  Many times the bull follows!

The Course Camaguaise is an exciting, breathtaking and fun way to spend an evening in Arles.  We highly recommend you also visit The Camargue, south of Arles, to learn about their incredible bulls and the special horses used to manage them.

No matter what you choose to do, Arles is the perfect base for exploring Provence!  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

References

The staff at Arles Tourist Information Center can help you maximize your time in Arles and Provence.