Aventures Arlesiennes: Arles, Les Baux, and La Camargue

Rick Steves aptly calls Arles “a down to earth slice of urban Provence, with evocative Roman ruins, an eclectic assortment of museums, made-for-ice-cream pedestrian zones, and squares that play hide-and-seek with visitors.” Three delightful days using this charming town as our home base confirmed our love for this medieval gem. From Arles, we ventured to St. Remy, Les Baux, and La Camargue.

After a bit of a snafu with our rental car, Michael’s charm and fluent French along with Doug’s professional driving skills paid off and we were on our way, navigating roundabouts under sunny skies from the TGV station in Avignon to the lovely Hotel Musee.

Tucked into an off-the-beaten-path (read:tiny streets built for bikes, not cars!) the hotel is a 17th century maze of comfortable rooms, restful parlors, winding stairways, and inviting courtyards. It’s adjacent to the Reattu Museum, houses in the former Grand Priory of the Knights of Malta, so it was easy to find once we realized that we could follow the signs to the museum if we got disoriented among the tangle of narrow, winding streets. The hotel provided a welcome respite from the unseasonably chilly temperatures and Mistral-force winds that accompanied parts our stay. Le Mistral is a vicious wind that blows 30-60 mph about 100 days of the year. Author Peter Mayle said “it can blow the ears off a donkey!” It is said that this unrelenting wind could have contributed to van Gogh’s mental illness. But we also relished in the magnificent light that drew the artist to Arles.

We timed our visit to Arles around market day, and it did not disappoint. People flock to the ring road that surrounds the city to purchase anything and everything. We were tempted by bountiful displays of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, breads, pastries, herbs and spices, oils, and prepared foods. There are racks upon racks of clothes (Denise snagged an Italian mohair sweater to fend off the chill), shoes, linens, toys, and just about anything one could imagine, want or need.

Walking is the only way to see the many interesting points of interest in Arles, and since it’s relatively flat, it wasn’t too difficult to navigate. Arles fully embraces its Roman roots, with ancient ruins literally standing alongside shops and cafes.

Built in 90 AD, the Classical Theater once held more than 20,000 spectators for chariot races and other bloody hand-to-hand battles. Today it is home to La Feria de Pasque, live bullfights over Easter weekend as well as summer concerts and fairs. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Place de la Republique is a kind of central square housing the former Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and friends and neighbors gather alongside tourists. St. Trophime Church, named after a third-century bishop of Arles, is on the square and is a fine representation of Roman and Gothic architecture.

The Arlaten Folk Museum, set in a 15th-century manor home, was a delightful surprise. It is considered the leading museum in Provence for the preservation of traditional folklore. With Roman ruins literally exposed within, the recently-renovated high-tech museum explains the importance of the Rhone River and the Camargue to the area’s history, economy and culture. It traces traditional dress, tools, musical instruments and more. It ends with a look at challenges facing Provence today. It’s definitely worth the price of admission.

In 1888, shortly after his famous ear-cutting incident, van Gogh was admitted to Hotel Dieux, a local hospital. Today this space has been transformed into Espace van Gogh Cultural Center. Surrounding the flowering courtyard the artist loved to paint during his recovery, Espace includes the courtyard, exhibit space, classrooms and a library.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to the second last day of L’Atelier du Sud Residence d’Artiste, a private residence and companion exhibit of 24 French and US artists who came together between 2020-2023 to live and work together in a creative residential community. Fulfilling van Gogh’s thwarted dream of an artist collective residence for his Yellow House (destroyed in WWII) these artists explored van Gogh’s notions of home as a place for artistic experimentation, and collaboration as a form of artistic practice. The exhibit includes various contemporary mediums including sculpture, mosaics, video and painting.

Named for the Roman forum that once stood here, Forum Square was the political and religious center of Roman Arles. Still lively, the bistros on this square offer casual food and drink, and a great opportunity for people -watching.

We ventured out of Arles to the sophisticated city of San Remy and the St. Paul Monastery and Hospital, a still-functioning psychiatric hospital. Van Gogh checked himself into the facility where he stayed from 1889-1890 and completed 143 paintings and more than 100 drawings. The tranquil setting reflects Vincent’s temporarily-peaceful world: a small chapel, private cloisters still in use, a re-creation of his room, and a small walled lavender field with several copies of his paintings.

Also in San Remy are the Glanum Ruins, the 2,000 year old foundation of a Roman market town at the crossroads between Italy and Spain.

Moving on to the nearby town of Les Baux, we climbed some pretty steep hills to be rewarded by spectacular views of some important ruins from the Middle Ages.

We continued on our scenic drive to La Camargue, a regional nature Park and protected habitat for birds, bulls, white horses, wild boar and the pink flamingos that had recently migrated south for the season.

At the western end of the Camargue lies the whitewashed seafront town if Stes-maries-de-la-mer where we made a brief stop for some ice cream. The town is famous as a mecca for the Roma (Gypsies) who gather here for two weeks annually to venerate their patroness Saint Sarah. We missed the celebration, but thoroughly enjoyed the laid-back feel of the town.

And speaking of ice cream, we enjoyed some wonderful meals during our stay in Arles. Breakfast near the marketplace fortified us for the day ahead. Michael’s special friend, our favorite server Aziza suggested some delicious rotisserie options at Bistrot Aarlesien, and we enjoyed our food, but NOT the stuffy unhelpful service at Greeniotage, the “little sister” to the Michelin-Starred Rabanel.

We made great use of our three days in Arles and the surrounding area and adjusted well to the time change and sunny, chilly, windy weather. It provided a perfect place to launch our stay in Provence.