Destination: Arles, France

While stationed in Nîmes during my trip to the south of France, I also took a couple of day trips to nearby towns. One of them was Arles, which is most-famous for being the home of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who’d lived there for a year. It was perhaps an hour’s ride from Nîmes, so I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to check out more of what the region had to offer.

After staying one night at a crappy hostel in the outskirts of town, I headed out early to catch my BlaBlaCar ride to Arles. I reached the city at 9h00 and, since it was still too early for shops and tourist attractions to be opened, I puttered around the Old Town until then. As I’d visited in March, the mistral (aka super-strong winds that affect the south of France) was happening, which made it quite the adventure getting around town without being knocked off one’s feet!

Places started opening up around 10:00, and I first visited les thermes de Constantin, which were constructed during the Roman Empire and used for recreational purposes. Of course, the thermal baths have long since dried out, but it was interesting wandering the ruins and getting the gist of the place. Considering that I was coming from the northern part of France, learning about the Roman influence in the south was pretty cool. I’d paid 9 euros for a museum pass to other places in town, which I think was a good deal in the end.

I briefly visit le musée Réattu, which housed plenty of contemporary art and photography. There was also a sizable amount of Picasso’s works, but otherwise I didn’t find much interest in the art pieces in the museum (then again, I’m not a huge fan of museums!). I’d originally intended on checking out the fondation Vincent van Gogh, but it wasn’t included in my museum pass, nor would van Gogh’s works be up until May. I love all things van Gogh, so if I wouldn’t be able to see his pieces, I didn’t find it worth it to go, anyway.

Following the museum, I wandered more of the Old Town, eventually coming across the café made famous by van Gogh himself, from the painting Café Terrace at Night. Granted, I’d gone during the day, so there was none of that starry, dreamy Impressionism, but it was cool to see the painting in reality. The café itself had super-overpriced food, which was well over my budget for dining purposes– I ended up getting a formule déjeuner at one of the boulangeries in the square, which sufficed for lunch.

I passed by the city’s hôtel de Ville, and then I entered the cathédrale Saint-Trophime d’Arles. Although its exterior may seem rather plain, its cloister inside was rather impressive; I’m a huge fan of cloisters and their architecture, so I enjoyed the visit!

Nearing noon-time, I decided to take a walk to the pont van Gogh (officially known as the “Langlois Bridge”), which was situated about 50 minutes outside of the city center. Likewise with the café in the city center, the bridge itself had also been an inspiration for van Gogh’s paintings. That said, I set out from the city center– again, it was a windy day, but nevertheless sunny. It was a matter of walking along the bike lane, and soon enough, I reached the Langlois bridge. Admittedly, it was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, but all the same, I took a photo of it, took in its presence, and then headed back into town.

Once I was back in the city center, I visited les Alyscamps, which is a necropolis that contained a church inside of it. While one might consider the visit rather morbid, I actually find visiting cemeteries and necropoles rather fascinating. Besides the rich history behind them, they’re also a peaceful respite from the otherwise-touristy parts of the city.

I returned inside the fortified walls of the Old Town, where I used my museum pass to discover les Arènes d’Arles. Although I’d already seen a similar one in Nîmes, it was a matter of looking inside Arles’ to compare to the one in Rome (hint: nothing can compare to Rome’s). It was large and spacious, and it’s incredible to imagine how it must have been millennia ago, with entertainment acts and other forms of past-time for spectators to see.

Afterwards, I was pretty much done seeing what I wanted to see in Arles. I would be taking a BlaBlaCar ride back to Nîmes (with the same driver) around 18:00, so it was a matter of waiting until then. I went into the city’s train station where I spent some time charging my phone, thanks to the outlets inside, and then I headed out to wait for my driver to pick me up. He ended up being about 20 to 30 minutes late, but all the same, we left the city, and I returned to Nîmes around 19:00. Granted, I got a bit lost trying to get back to my *shitty* hostel, and thankfully, a random man walking his dog guided me back. It was a matter of checking out early from the hostel and heading to the Couchsurfer’s flat in the city center where I would stay for the next two nights. An exhausting day, that’s to say, but a worthwhile one in the end.

In essence, Arles was a small, quaint town that I found was worth a day trip over. There was a good amount of sites to see in such a short time, and I was glad to have spent much of it satisfying my van Gogh cravings through the cafés, bridges, and other architectures in town. Should you wonder where to go in the south of France, Arles is a good place to consider!

More to come soon!

 

— Rebecca