Arles (cont'd)
Historic Town
Walking the historic town is easy, everything except the Musèe Dèpartemental de l'Arles Antique, Alyscamps and the Pont du Langlois (van Gogh Bridge), is located in the historic town. Parking is a huge problem during tourist season. Take a shot at the parking garage on Blvd. des Lices near the tourist office (P). If not try your luck on some of the smaller open air parking spaces next to the ramparts. Last resort: park outside in the newer parts of town and hike into the old town.
From Blvd. des Lices (1) we walk up Rue Jean Jaurès to the wide Place de la Republique (2). You see the town hall (Hotel de Ville) with its magnificent clock tower in front of you, Cathédrale St.Trophime to the right and the smaller 17th century Eglise Ste.Anne, which houses the Musee d'Art Paien (Pagean Art Museum) on the left. In the middle of the square is the Obelisk Fountain. Its 10m high Egyptian type obelisk used to mark the finishing line for chariot races in the Roman circus. Walk inside the town hall (Hotel de Ville) to see the impressive 17th century hall with a copy of the Venus of Arles (original is in the Louvre) on the stairway leading up to a magnificent meeting hall (closed to visitors, we happened to walk in there and were promptly thrown out).
Cathédrale St.Trophime (2), where Frederic Barbarossa was crowned emperor in 1178, has a massive 40m high bell tower and a very distinct Romanesque doorway, one of the best examples of Romanesque art in the Provence. It shows Christ on top of the door, the twelve apostles directly underneath and various saints between the columns. St.Trophime, the first bishop of Arles around 250, is the 3rd statue on the left, counting from the entrance door. The cathedral has three long and impressive Romanesque naves, the central nave is 20m high and 15m wide and ends with a Gothic apse. Visit the St.Trophime Cloister, the most richly decorated cloister in Southern France with four non-symmetrical galleries and a wonderful courtyard. The style is Provençal Romanesque (North and East galleries) and Gothic (South and West galleries). You get a feel for the importance of Arles as a religious center during medieval times.
From the cloisters we walk up the Rue du Cloître and turn right into Rue de la Calade. You will see the entrance to the Théâtre Antique (3), the Roman Theater with its semicircle of tiers facing west towards the stage house with the Roman columns. Only two of the columns remain, yet you get an impression of the magnitude of this theater complex.
At the end of Rue Calade you reach the Les Arènes (4), the Roman Amphitheatre, which could seat up to 30.000 spectators. Only the lower two tiers of the arches remain, the upper tiers were used as building material. In medieval times, the arena became a fortified inner town quarter, with more than 200 houses and two chapels. They were cleared only in 1830. Still, it is an impressive monument. Parts of it are presently being restored. In 2004 we attended a Provençal bull fight in the arena. It was a delight to watch the skills of the horsemen and matadors; the bulls are not being killed. There are also Spanish type bullfights here, the typical serial butchery. During bullfight days market stands sell ox roast, a traditional dish of the nearby Camargue.
On the Western side of Les Arènes is the Fondation van Gogh-Arles, a permanent exhibtion of art created in honor of van Gogh by painters, sculptors and photographers. No works of van Gogh are exhibited here. On the Eastern side of les Arènes is the Place de la Major with the Romanesque style church Notre Dame la Major. From the terrace you have a wonderful view North towards the Cevennes and les Alpilles with Mt.Ventoux in the background. You can see the ruins of Montmajour Abbey in front of les Alpilles.
Explore the narrow streets of Arles. Walk down Rue Raspail and turn left into Rue du Grand Prieuré until you reach the Musée Réattu (5), located in the 15th century Commanderie of the Knights Hospitalers. The museum, the building was at some point owned by the 19th century painter Jacques Réattu, a native of Arles, is worthwhile visiting. It houses an interesting collection of 16th-20th century paintings, as well as the Picasso foundation with 57 of his drawings.
Nearby are the Roman Constantine Thermes (6) with its alternating rows of bricks and stones. Only the monumental apse with three arched windows and remnants of the underground hot water circuit can be seen.
Before you reach the Hotel de Ville (town hall) again, turn right into Rue Balze and visit the Cryptoporticus (7), three impressive underground galleries from early Roman times. They were actually the foundation for the Roman forum and later used as store houses.
A bit further west, on Place du Docteur Félix Rey (near Rue Molière), is the Espace van Gogh (8). To this former hospital (Hôtel Dieu) Vincent van Gogh was brought after the famous incident of cutting off his left earlobe in December 1888. The 16th century building has a French style garden in the center courtyard which was immortalized in his painting "Le Jardin de l'Hotel Dieu". The garden has been restored to the state it was during van Gogh's time.
