Arles was built on a hill above the Rhone river. Its history is radiant : it has been a roman capital, a leading religious center during the Middle Ages and the town where Van Gogh settled. Today’s Arles is known as the town of « Art and history ». Its roman and roman styled monuments belong to the UNESCO world protected heritage.
Tanks to its location (between the Alpilles and La Camargue), the town benefits from a remarkable natural site. This geographical diversity caused a cultural diversity, therefore Arles has always been a crossroads of traditions.
It inherited the shepherds, the Christmas crib figures and the provençal folk culture. La Camargue gave Arles its ferias, 3 days’ festivities around corridas with toreros, bulls, guardians and Arlesiennes. Arles counts numerous modern festivals focusing on photography, cinema, music, multimedia…
Among these wonders, do not miss the market on Lices boulevard on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. The beauty and variety of its products are simply fabulous.
Van Gogh arrived in Arles on February 20, 1888 in order to create Les Ateliers du Midi (« the Midi studios »). He lived at 2, place Lamartine, known as the yellow house where Gauguin quickly came to join him. Due to his first attacks, Vincent had to be hospitalized in Arles’s nursing home, which is today dedicated to his life. The hospital and its garden have been restored according to its paintings. Some of their topics can be found downtown : the embarkments along the Rhone river led to « Starry night above the Rhone ». There’s also « Le café du forum » (« The forum coffehouse », « Les Alyscamps » and the Langlois bridge. Gauguin painted them as well.
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