# Arles in a Weekend — The South of France
> Roman arenas, Van Gogh’s light and the new art of LUMA. Two days in the city where the Camargue begins, by the Rhône and the Saturday market.

*Source : https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/arles-in-a-weekend/*

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By **The Editors** — _by the Rhône_

Spring 20268 min read Share LinkMail

Arles is two thousand years of looking. The Romans built an arena and a theatre; Van Gogh painted the café and the night; the Rencontres made it a city of photography; and LUMA gave it a tower of mirrored steel. A weekend holds all of it, if you walk and let the Rhône set the pace.

## I. Day one — the antique city

Begin at the **Arènes** and the **Théâtre antique**, then follow the Van Gogh trail to the **Café la Nuit** on Place du Forum and the courtyard of the old hospital. End among the cypresses and stone tombs of the **Alyscamps**, the Roman road of the dead.

“In Arles the past is not behind a rope — it is the wall you lean on for shade.”

From the notebook

![The LUMA tower in Arles](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1576658709998-27872694e217?fm=jpg&q=74&w=1400&auto=format&fit=crop)

The LUMA tower by Frank Gehry — the city’s newest landmark, above the old railway yards.

## II. Day two — the market and the new art

Saturday belongs to the great market along the **Boulevard des Lices**, then the galleries of the **Rencontres** in summer and the parc des ateliers of **LUMA** all year. Lunch on a square, an hour by the river, and the Camargue an easy drive south when you are ready to leave the stone behind.

The Practical Carnet · Carnet pratique

### Plan the _weekend_

When to go

April–June and September–October. July brings the Rencontres de la Photographie and the crowds.

Getting around

All on foot in the centre; a car for the Camargue and the Alyscamps if you tire.

Market day

Saturday morning on the **Boulevard des Lices** — one of the finest in Provence.

Read next

[The Camargue, where the Rhône meets the sea](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/camargue-guide/)

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About the Author · L’auteur

#### Élise Marchand

Travel Editor — based in Marseille

Élise has been driving the back roads of the Midi for the journal since its first issue. She pays for her own rooms and her own lunches — and only writes about the places she would return to.

[More by Élise Marchand — voir ses articles](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/journal/)

Continue reading · À lire ensuite

### More from the _South_

[

![The Camargue south of Arles](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517580988281-551119684757?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Camargue

#### The Camargue, where the Rhône meets the sea

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/)[

![A Provençal village](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1584617206487-e6645cf9ff13?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Provence

#### A weekend in the Alpilles

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/provence/)[

![A hotel in Arles](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1625635765295-2c4c8659fd09?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Stays

#### Where to stay near Arles

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/)