Back in July before leaving for a month in the U.S., I went on a great camping trip with friends outside of a city in the south of France called Martigues. Our camping spot was right along the Mediterranean in the path of the hot, summer sun and strong Mistral wind. After the holiday weekend, everyone was planning to return to Grenoble, but since I was on summer break, I decided to continue travelling so I found myself in Arles for a few days on my way back. With 3 days/ nights in Arles, I discovered that there was really a lot to see and do. I really enjoyed my time there... Let me tell you about some of the highlights.
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| Ancient Roman Theatre in Arles |
Arles is home to a plethora of Roman monuments including an arena, ancient theatre, forum and more. Our tickets included a free tour of the arena, and this was my favorite stop. I learned that the arena was home to gladiators and the such, but was also filled with houses at one point before being restored to the arena you see today. The monuments and museums are really the big TO DO of Arles, as there is so much to see. I'd suggest buying the tourist pass which lets you into a selection of historical places.
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| Le Cloître St Trophime |
It is tradition in Arles to show off the strength and intelligence of the local bulls. Bulls are raised on farms and in the wild in the Camargue, a natural park. On the evening that I arrived, there was a Course Camarguaise which the tourism office suggested I see since it is known as the local sport. The race begins with the "runners" entering the arena dressed in all white. Soon a bull is let in with them. The goal is for the runners to take a trinket from between the bulls horns. Sometimes they run towards the bull, and there is a lot of jumping out of the arena as the angry bull charges. The bulls are not harmed physically in any way, though I was a bit uncomfortable to see how frustrated they became. One bull kept jumping out of the center arena into the surrounding circle to escape the center area. Despite this, the spectators (a significant number of locals and what seemed to be family members of the runners) were enjoying themselves and kept ooh-ing and ah-ing as the performance went on. An interesting fact is that for each bull race, one local farmer is selected to bring his bulls for the night's festivities.
City of the Camargue
Arles sits at the very northern tip of the Camargue, which is a park which is a UNESCO designated natural reserve. It is famous for its wild white horses, bulls, and pink flamingoes. With an hour bus ride, you can go to Saintes Marie de la Mer, a tourist village along the Med coast with nice beaches and opportunities for horse riding. I spent a day here, and while it was very touristy, enjoyed myself and the beautiful scenery.
Van Gogh
After getting burnt out in Paris, Vincent Van Gogh came to the south of France to recover. Although he ended up admitting himself to a psych hospital, he spent part of his southern journey in Arles where he painted many of his famous works. It is considered one of his most productive periods. One work called "Night Café" shows a café in Arles lit up in the evening. There is a small museum and walk you can do to discover more about Van Gogh's relationship with Arles, but I thought it was simply cool to have the understanding that I was walking in the footsteps of a great artist whose works inspire me.
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Eat: Jardin des Arts - There were many delicious restaurants in Arles, but this was my favorite with it's homemade ravioli filled with two kinds of fish, wrapped in squid ink pasta dough, and covered in a salmon and tomato sauce. They didn't have any starters, which was a bit odd, but there main dishes and desserts were all that much better.
Do: Go to the tourist office and buy a tourist pass to visit the monuments and museums. You can visit up to 5 places and save lots of money compared to individual tickets. I ended up only visiting 4 places because I ran out of time, but it was still very worth it.
Tourist Trinkets: Salt from the Camargue, Lavender products, Soap from Marseille
