Arles area

I enjoyed Arles a lot so I hope you will plan to spend a day around there. It's impressive with the Roman ruins right in town and the arena is still used. I am a museum person and the archeological museum of Arles with the Gallo-Roman barge was fantastic. There is a small Roman Bath area in Arles as well.

Are you a Van Gogh fan? I enjoyed walking along the river and seeing the curve painted by Van Gogh during his stay in town as reflected in his Starry Night over the Rhone. There is a cafe in the city center painted like his Cafe Terrace at Night as well as some other locations he painted. When I was there pre-Covid there was a DIY walk from the tourist office with various points related to Van Gogh.

I was on a Road Scholar tour and we also did a day trip down to the Camargue and Sainte-Marie-la-Mer which was very interesting.

We stayed in Arles for four nights in April, and enjoyed wandering around the city. Our next stop was Aix-en-Provence, so we knew we would take day trips from there, and we didn’t have a car, so we didn’t spend much time away from Arles. Our Airbnb host recommended a bike vélo to get from the station to the apartment, and that was so different and fun that we used the service again on our way out. Taco and co. +33 6 50 29 60 00. It was 10 Euro for us and our carryon bags and backpacks, and it was fun! I also learned a new word…chauffeuse…our feminine vélo driver. :-) After our long train ride to get there from Nice, it was a fun and convenient way to get to our apartment.

We only took one day trip from Arles, and it was a half day Camargue Safari booked through the TI. We thoroughly enjoyed that experience, and saw beautiful white horses galloping as well as up close when we pulled over to spend some time with them. The flamingoes were gorgeous, and we loved seeing them in flight as well as in the marshes. We also saw plenty of bulls (taureaux) and learned about how revered they are in the region. Then we spent time in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Our weather wasn’t great and we still thoroughly enjoyed our Land Rover tour through the Camargue. I would do it again! I had told our guide I was hoping to see a stork and she made sure we stopped where she knew one was nesting. It was a great morning.

In Arles, we enjoyed walking in Van Gogh’s footsteps around town, and finding the yellow easels. The Hotel Dieu was quite busy with tour groups, but we got there early, and had some moments between groups to enjoy the gardens and take some great photos. Learning that both the Roman arena (also a Van Gogh spot) and the theater are still being used for big events nowadays was great, and we spent time simply people watching and imagining past glory days when exploring both sites.

The historical museum, just out of the city center and walkable, was really interesting, and we followed Rick’s advice to do that early in our stay. Seeing how the Roman ruins looked in their heyday, and how the town grew around them was interesting. The most fascinating part for us was watching the film about how they discovered a Roman era barge in the river recently, and the painstaking efforts that were taken by scuba divers and archaeologists to lift it out of the water and preserve it so it could be displayed in the museum. That was really cool to learn about, and then to walk around the actual vessel!

Jardin des Arts is a lovely restaurant. We had lunch in the pretty garden courtyard, which was a cloister long ago.

Mazette! is a delicious cafe, and we enjoyed two breakfasts there, surrounded by locals.

Enjoy your trip!

Laurie

I really enjoy Arles but it is an odd mix of blue collar and chic Provincial aspirant. It has very work-a-day places interspersed with charming alleys and food court plazas. Arles has the Roman arena, theater, museum, Roman Gothic church, van Gogh easels and a great little city explore. The Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles features rotating art shows and the one that was on when we were there was really interesting, but check the exhibit while you're there.

Had a really nice local food meal at Restaurant Le Plaza-La Paillotte right across from the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles.

Nimes has several great Roman artifacts - the Arena, museum and temple Maison Carrée - the park, garden and waterworks are fun to explore depending on the heat while you are there. Rick covers all of these sights well.
Check which trains are direct to NImes as many change in Avignon and take longer. When you exit the train station just walk up the throughly pleasant water lined street with everyone else to arrive at the arena and explore from there.

Avignon is charming but is mostly shopping and restaurants - the permanent market Les Halles is well worth checking out but arrive early. More upscale but we enjoyed Le 26 restaurant - try the onion and goat cheese starter - when we were there. For a more relaxed group diving atmosphere head to Pl. des Corps Saints (yes it does mean Place of the Saint Corpses) where a bunch of restaurants surround tables and people can order what they want. Just avoid the obvious string of restaurants that lead to the Palais des Papes area. It's charming to walk but eat elsewhere.

The Theater in Orange is worth the diversion I took while on the train. Really striking and shocking that it is still standing despite it's history. The walk from the train station to the theater did not give me the best impression of Orange, but I think area around the theater and into the old town is more charming.

All of the cities are great to explore and if you can do a market day while in Provence it is an experience. The wind in Provence is no joke and pay attention to the "Wind" marking in the weather app if it pops up. I was in Arles and the wind gusts were so strong that I saw a wine glass get blown off a table and into the street but the locals were acting like nothing was wrong.

Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod

Tod’s comment reminded me of how windy it was when we went to the top of the LUMA tower in Arles. I was wearing a dress and had a lot of trouble keeping it down, which was pretty funny and challenging. The winds were swirling and gusting all around us. I asked the lady at the info desk if this was similar to the famous mistral winds, even in a milder way, and she laughed and said no, they are much, much worse!

Also, Weds. and Sat. are market days in Arles, and we walked through the Saturday one before getting on our train. It was near the station, and quite extensive! I bought the first strawberries of the season (for us, anyway, coming from Michigan in April) and they were so sweet and wonderful.

Laurie

Nobody has spoken for Vienne, one of my favorites. This was a major Roman port and city. Plenty to see and an excellent Roman museum across the river.

Lyon has an excellent Gallo-Roman museum with objects you probably won’t see elsewhere.