Arles

Provençal Arles has been a major city of culture, heritage, history and art since Roman times. Thanks to its location beside the Rhône, for so long the major transport route between the Mediterranean and northwest Europe.

The whole city feels like an open-air museum. The ancient Roman legacy is stupendous, with the theatre, amphitheatre, forum and baths still so visible. As to the Musée de l’Arles Antique, it presents an amazing collection of classical objects. In more recent times, the people of Arles have remained proud of their traditions and folklore, following in the footsteps of a great 19th-century defender of Provençal culture, Frédéric Mistral, who founded the Museon Arlaten. Today, traditional festivals and feria mark the annual calendar. In summer, the city hosts a prestigious international photographic festival. Arles celebrates both its history and the present with gusto!

• Discover Arles, an ancient Roman city