Paris River Cruise (October 2023) Viking

Arles, France

Arles is a wonderful coastal community further down stream almost to the Mediterranean and was an extremely important town for the Romans. A large part of the area is the Camargue which is a wetlands delta area created by the two Rhone tributaries the Grand Rhone and the Petite Rhone. It also was a gathering place for many artists, notable Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Jacques Réattu. The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889, and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there.

Our tour will take us on a walk to visit the

1. Roman Amphitheatre In Arles (and still used today),

2, Roman Theater - one of the first Roman stone theatres built and still features plays and concerts

3. Arles City Hall in the town Square with the Obelisk and Hotel de Ville (City Hall)

4. And we walked in Vincent Van Gogh's footsteps to the Espace Van Gogh and saw places where he captured some of his paintings.

Arles Roman Amphitheater

Built in 90 AD, the amphitheatre held over 20,000 spectators of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Nowadays, it draws smaller crowds for bullfighting as well as plays and concerts in summer. Two-tiered, it is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city which thrived in Ancient Rome. The towers jutting out from the top are medieval add-ons.

With the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century, the amphitheatre became a shelter for the population and was transformed into a fortress with four towers (the southern tower is not restored. The structure encircled more than 200 houses, becoming a real town, with its public square built in the centre of the arena and two chapels, one in the centre of the building, and another one at the base of the west tower.

This new residential role continued until the late 18th century, and in 1825 through the initiative of the writer Prosper Mérimée, the change to national historical monument began. In 1826, expropriation began of the houses built within the building, which ended by 1830 when the first event was organized in the arena – a race of the bulls to celebrate the taking of Algiers.

Wars and time have diminished the structure, but you can see, pictured from the outside, four arches that have been restored since WWII

Arles Roman Theater

The Roman Theatre of Arles is a 1st-century Roman theatre, built during the reign of Caesar Augustus. It is located next to the Arles Amphitheatre. During the Middle Ages, the theatre was used as a quarry, with the stone pillaged to build the city wall and other buildings. Today, only the stage area, orchestra section, seating rows, and two columns survive.

Town Square - Place de la Republique

This is the main square in the town of Arles. There is the Cathedral, the Town Hall, the church Sainte Anne and the ancient Obelisk in the centre to see. Our guide told us that the obelisk dated from the 4th century and was erected by the Romans and has since been repaired and restored. The square "bears witness to all the eras that have marked the history of the city : monuments from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and facades where a diversity of styles from the 17th to the 19th centuries are represented." She also talked about the vaulted vestibule created in cradles. A technical daring for its time. No mortar was used and no obvious capstones can be discerned but the arches are standing. An architectural phenomenon.

It is Sunday and the church bells rang out to call the faithful to worship

Hotel de Ville (City Hall)

And it's incredible vaulted cradle arches. In more technical terms: flat vault of the Hall consists of two perpendicular cradles of unequal widths and eyeglass basket. It falls on both sides of the vestibule on double columns."

Getting to Know Vincent

During the tour and afterwards on our own we explored Vincent Van Gogh's life in Arles. It is where he famously cut off his ear and then spent time in a sanatorium which is now a tribute to him and his art.

On 20 February 1888, Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles. Before that, he had lived in Paris for two years, where he had developed a thoroughly modern style of painting.

During the more than fourteen months which he spent in Arles, he created a multitude of paintings and drawings, many of which are nowadays seen as highlights of late 19th century art.

In May, Van Gogh rented the yellow house, in which he lived and set up his studio. He had hopes of establishing a collective studio in the South, were other painters would join him.

On 23 October, Paul Gauguin came to Arles. The two artists lived and painted together for two months. It was a time filled with great mutual inspiration, but in the end their characters and artistic temperaments clashed.

On 23 December, Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown – probably a first sign of his illness – and cut off a part of his left ear. Gauguin left, and Van Gogh’s dream of a studio with other painters was shattered.

He spent some more time in the hospital after a second breakdown in February 1889. He continued to work in Arles for a few more months, but had himself interned voluntarily in the asylum in Saint-Rémy on 8 May 1889.

Curve in the Grand Rhone, not far from where our ship was docked