Top Things to Do in Arles — Your Complete Guide 2026
Published 2026-06-15 | A complete guide to Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Top Things to Do in Arles — A City of 2,000 Years of Art & Nature
Arles packs more history, art, and natural wonder into a compact, walkable city than almost anywhere else in France. Founded as the Roman city of Arelate, it was one of the most important ports of the Western Empire. Two millennia later, its Roman monuments remain among the best-preserved in Europe. Then came Van Gogh, who produced over 300 paintings here in just 15 explosive months. And just beyond the city limits, the Camargue delta unfolds — a 100,000-hectare wilderness of pink flamingos, white horses, and black bulls. Here's everything you should do in Arles.
Explore the Roman Monuments
Arles's Roman and Romanesque monuments form a UNESCO World Heritage ensemble that rivals anywhere in the Mediterranean. Start with the Arles Amphitheatre (Les Arènes), built around 90 AD. This two-tiered oval seated 20,000 spectators and is still in use today — for bullfights during the ferias, summer concerts, and the traditional Course Camarguaise. Climb to the top of the medieval towers added in the 6th century for panoramic views over the red-tiled roofs of the old town.
The Roman Theatre, built under Augustus around 25 BC, is less intact but wonderfully atmospheric. Only the stage wall and the famous 'two columns' remain standing, but you can walk among the scattered stones and sit where Roman audiences watched comedies and tragedies. It still hosts open-air performances in summer. The Cryptoporticus — an underground gallery beneath the Forum — offers a cool escape in summer and a glimpse of the substructures that supported the Roman city above.
The Baths of Constantine, built in the early 4th century when Arles was an imperial residence, show the scale of Roman public life. The Alyscamps, a Roman necropolis that became a medieval pilgrimage route, is one of the most hauntingly beautiful sites in Provence — a long avenue of stone sarcophagi shaded by poplar trees, painted by both Van Gogh and Gauguin during the brief, intense period they worked together in Arles in autumn 1888.
Follow the Van Gogh Trail
No artist is more intimately associated with a single city than Vincent van Gogh is with Arles. Arriving in February 1888, fleeing the grey of Paris, he was immediately intoxicated by the light, the colour, and the landscape of Provence. Over the next 15 months, he produced some of his most celebrated works: Starry Night Over the Rhône, Café Terrace at Night, The Yellow House, Bedroom in Arles, and the flower studies and wheat field paintings that would define his mature style.
The city has installed reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings at 10 exact locations where he set up his easel, creating a self-guided walking trail that takes about 1.5-2 hours. Key stops include: the Place du Forum, where the café he painted in Café Terrace at Night still operates (now painted yellow to match the painting); the Quai du Rhône, where he painted Starry Night Over the Rhône; the Alyscamps; and the site of the Yellow House on Place Lamartine (the house itself was destroyed in WWII bombing). The Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, in a beautifully renovated 15th-century hôtel particulier, mounts rotating exhibitions that place Van Gogh in dialogue with contemporary artists.
Visit LUMA Arles
The LUMA Arles arts complex, housed in Frank Gehry's staggering 56-metre tower that opened in 2021, has transformed Arles's contemporary cultural landscape. The tower itself — a twisting, fragmented cylinder clad in 11,000 stainless steel panels — is worth the visit alone. Inside, rotating exhibitions span contemporary art, photography, design, and ecology, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between art and the environment. The rooftop terrace offers spectacular 360-degree views over Arles, the Rhône, and the Camargue beyond. The surrounding Parc des Ateliers, a former railway repair yard reimagined as a cultural campus, hosts open-air installations, a café, and community events. Admission to the tower and grounds is €12 (concessions available).
Discover the Camargue Natural Park
The Camargue Regional Nature Park begins just south of Arles — 100,000 hectares of salt flats, reed beds, lagoons, and rice paddies that form Europe's largest river delta. This is one of the most extraordinary natural landscapes on the continent. The star attraction is the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau (about 25 minutes from Arles by car), where well-maintained trails and hides allow you to observe pink flamingos, herons, egrets, and over 300 other bird species from just a few metres away. Spring and autumn are peak birdwatching seasons, but flamingos are present year-round.
The Camargue is also the land of the gardians — the traditional cowboys who herd the region's black bulls on white Camargue horses. You can watch them work at traditional manades (ranches), many of which offer visits and demonstrations. The coastal town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (30 minutes from Arles) is a pilgrimage site for Roma people and offers wild beaches, seafood restaurants, and boat trips into the delta. For the adventurous, guided 4x4 safaris take you deep into areas inaccessible by regular car.
Explore the Musée Réattu
Housed in a 15th-century Grand Priory of the Knights of Malta overlooking the Rhône, the Musée Réattu is one of Provence's most beautiful museums. Its collection spans from the 16th century to contemporary art, but the highlight is its Picasso collection — 57 drawings the artist donated to Arles in 1971, displayed in rotating exhibitions alongside works by other modern masters. The museum also has an outstanding photography collection. The building itself, with its Gothic vaulted ceilings and terrace overlooking the river, is worth the visit.
Shop the Saturday Market
The Marché d'Arles on Saturday mornings is routinely ranked among the top five markets in France. Stretching the full length of Boulevard des Lices under the plane trees, it's an assault on the senses — the smell of roasting chickens and lavender soap, the colour of Provençal fabrics, the taste of olives from the Vallée des Baux and goat's cheese from the Alpilles. This is a real working market, not a tourist attraction, and the producers are passionate and generous with samples. Go early (before 9 AM) for the best produce, and stay for lunch at one of the food stalls. The covered market, Les Halles d'Arles, is open Tuesday-Sunday mornings for daily fresh provisions.
Day Trips from Arles
Pont du Gard (25 min): The highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges, a UNESCO World Heritage site and engineering marvel. You can walk across the top (guided tours available), swim in the Gardon River below, and visit the excellent museum.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (25 min): The beautiful Alpilles town where Van Gogh spent a year at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, painting over 150 works including Starry Night and Irises. Visit the asylum, the Roman site of Glanum, and the elegant town centre.
Les Baux-de-Provence (30 min): A spectacular ruined castle atop a limestone crag, with panoramic views. The nearby Carrières de Lumières hosts immersive digital art shows in former limestone quarries.
Avignon (35 min by train): The Papal Palace, the famous bridge, and one of France's finest medieval city centres. Easily combined with a morning in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon across the river.
Nîmes (30 min): Another outstanding Roman city with its own amphitheatre, the Maison Carrée temple, and the Jardins de la Fontaine.
Cultural Events & Festivals
Plan Your Stay in Arles
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