Arles - worth the effort.

Arles is a city located on the Rhône River, north of the Camargue Delta in Southern France. It's not far from Avignon and Saint-Remy de Provence.

Arles was etablished by the Ligurians around 800 BC and then became an important Phoenician trading port before being taken over by the Romans in 123 BC. From then on it became an important city. Roman emperors frequently used it as their headquarters for military campaigns in the 4th and 5th centuries.

After the fall of the Roman Empire  Arles'  magnificence faded and many buildings lay in ruins. It was constantly playing second cousin to Marseilles.

Today the city is famous for the Roman vestiges which still remain. It did still survive as a port but when the railway arrived in the 19th century that was pretty much IT. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site for it's amphitheatre, Gallo-Roman theatre, and aqueduct remains.

Vincent Van Gogh arrived there 21 February 1888 and completed several important paintings there before the infamous ear-slicing incident, after which the painter was obliged to take himself off to the asylum at Saint-Remy de Provence.

I took an instant like to the city as soon as I saw it on the other bank of the Rhône. So provencal with it's stone buildings with tiled roofs. It also seemed clean, especially the arena. Although it is incomplete now (like the Coliseum in Rome) it has kept its presence. I had a light dinner in a cafe just in front of the arena, marvelling how I could be there and looking out on a monument that had been there 2000 years, it having seen so much history.

Later I strolled past the Gallo-Roman theatre remains where a multimedia outdoor theatre presentation was going on. I couldn't get in to see the show baut later found myself sharing the footpath with several 'gladiators' and Roman citizens who were making their way home after starring in the spectacle. So cool, so casual - all in a day's work in Arles.

Cities of this age usually present little details of interest if you pay attention and I was not disappointed; shop signs, doorways, markets and shutters all lent their charm. Wander the backstreets and discover some for yourself.

An international photography festival has been held at Arles since 1970.

Bullfights (fatal and non-fatal for the bulls) are still presented in the arena.

Watch out for the Mistral wind which loves to scream through this area of France making you clutch your belongings closely to your body and to hurry home. For me it was the only disagreeable thing about Arles but the wind blows all along the coast at the end of summer so there's no escaping it.