Arles is an old town situated on the east-side of the major branch of the Rhône.

It is famous for the Roman monuments that still dominate its old center.

 

Vincent van Gogh lived here and created some of his most dramatic paintings.

 

Arles has a long history with Ligurians roots. Phoenicians set up a trading post.

The city fell to the Romans in 123 BC and became a colony for retired legionaires.

Arelate, as the city was now called, reached its prime under Roman rule in the 4th and 5th century.

In the 9th century Vikings paid some uninvited and unpleasant vists to the city.

 

Arles remained an important port for river trade untill the arrival of the railway in the late 1800ths.

 

Presently Arles draws many tourists for the many remaining  Roman monuments.

 

We were in Arles in May 2015 and paid a visit to the arena, the theatre, the thermae and the obelisk.