Routes
Roman Arles
A walking loop through central Arles, from the arena to the Alyscamps, in the footsteps of the Roman colony founded in 46 BC.
- Distance
- 2.9 km
- Walking
- 39 min on foot
- Stops
- 7
Stops
The arena
Welcome to Arles. In front of you is the Roman amphitheatre, built around AD 80 to 90 under Emperor Domitian. It is 136 metres long with two levels of arcades.
The antique theatre
A few steps away is the antique theatre. Begun around 40 to 30 BC and completed around 12 BC, it is one of the first stone theatres of the Roman world. Its tiers held about 10,000 spectators.
Saint-Trophime
On the Place de la République stands Saint-Trophime, built from 1100, one of the great Romanesque buildings of Provence. Look at its portal, carved around 1180 to 1190. The adjoining cloister combines Romanesque and Gothic galleries.
The cryptoporticus
Beneath your feet lie the cryptoporticus: underground galleries from Roman times, on the site of the town’s ancient forum.
The Baths of Constantine
On the bank of the Rhône, these early 4th-century baths date from the time when Emperor Constantine lived in Arles. They are among the best preserved in France; you can make out the caldarium and its underfloor heating.
The Réattu Museum
Close by, the former grand priory of the Knights Hospitaller, bought by the Arles painter Jacques Réattu, now houses a museum devoted to his work, to drawings by Picasso and to photography.
The Alyscamps
The walk ends at the Alyscamps, a pagan then Christian necropolis at the south-eastern entrance of the ancient town on the Via Aurelia. In the Middle Ages people came from far away to be buried here.