Arles - June 2 and 3, 2013

On our third day in Arles (June 2, 2013), we got up about 9 am, had a great breakfast at the hotel and ventured out to see the Roman ruins.  We started at the Amphitheatre – the Roman arena where the bullfights now occur but which saw gladiators fights in the early days.  It seats 20,000 (even did 2000 years ago).  Pretty amazing.  It is being restored and is one of the best preserved arenas around.  During its tenure, it became a walled fortress and 4 towers were built (3 still stand today) and the interior was a jumble of homes and businesses.  Great history here.

We then went to the Theatre which is a few steps away – this is where plays and shows took place.  The Theatre is not well preserved, but the renderings show that it was a 3 story building – it was a grand place.

We walked to Republic Square (much quieter as it was Sunday) and the Crypt – going underground about 20 feet we were able to see a labyrinth of arches (underground) which were built to support Forum Square above it.  As Arles slopes to the River, they needed a flat surface for the square, so built the famous Roman arches to support this square – all underground.  Forum Square now houses many restaurants including the famous Café de Nuit where Van Gogh spent many hours and he also has a famous painting of this Café.

We stopped at the Saint Triomphe church cloisters (the church itself was closed for a private function) – this is a major restorative project but was neat to see.

We wandered back to our hotel for a siesta and then ventured out for a typical Provencal dinner only to find that most restaurants were closed. We ended up a small restaurant on Forum Square and had pasta and chicken (not so typical) – oh well, we had one more night to get in that dinner.

Our last day in Arles started out with a tour.  We went to the Pont du Gard which is the famous Roman Aqueduct built 2000 years ago to being water from the river the to village Nimes about 50 kilometres.  Amazing that in this distance the aqueduct dropped only 40 feet – quite the feat of Roman engineering!  Most of this aqueduct is built underground but the portion we were able to see spanned a river.  Truly amazing.  This aqueduct delivered thousands of gallons of water each day to Nimes. 

We then stopped at some Roman ruins and the entrance to the former city of Gallum.  After a short stop, we ventured on to Les Baux de Provence, a very charming little hill top town built into the rock.  Very cute and well preserved.  It felt as if we were living in Medevil times.  We arrived back at our hotel about 1 pm.

We had the mundane task of having to do laundry, so took a couple of bags to the local laundromat.  Came back for a siesta (getting good at this) and again ventured out to find that Provencal meal.  This ended up at The Plaza which is apparently an award winning restaurant.  Our menu, waitress and surroundings were all very French – our meal was ok – oh well maybe our expectations were too high.  Back to pack and off to Paris tomorrow morning.

Arles Ampitheater

Bob and Jan in Republic Square

Arles - Shutters

Les Baux de Provence

Pont du Gard