Arles Museums

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Most of the major sites/museums cost about 3 € for entry. One "Pass Monument ticket, 12 € (2005) allows entry into all museums of the main group; not included is the vincent Van Gogh foundation. The opening hours for all the museums are: Mar-Apr 9h-12h, 14h-18h; May-Sept 9h-19h; Oct 9h-12h; Nov-Feb 10h-12h, 14h-17h.

Roman Arena ("Amphithéatre")

Built in 70-80 AD, three of the original four donjon towers remain, along with most of the walls. The walls were two-leveled, each with 60 arches. The entrance is on the north side, opposite the Bvd des Lices. The arena was transformed into a château-fort in the 12th century, and during the middle ages it was filled with tunnels, shops and houses. Restoration to its current state began in the 19th century.

Roman Theater (Théâtre Antique)

The theater originally sat 10 to 15,000 spectators, and is one of the earliest free-standing theaters using radiating walls and galleries. The twin columns, which were described in the Middle Ages as a place for pagan sacrifices, were later included in the gardens of the convent that was built on the site.

Roman Forum

The front of the forum complex is on the Place du Forum, where the columns are integrated into the walls of the Hôtel du Nord. The foundations of the forum were built as a large U-shaped cellar, to compensate for the slope down to the Rhône. The cellars remain almost completely, but the rest is mostly gone.

Baths of Constantine

The Roman baths, located on the Rue D. Maisto (continuation of Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville), were probably the largest baths in Provence, and one of the last to built in southern Gaul. Construction material included stone, brick, marble, and concrete -- a feature of the Late Empire.

Muséon Arlaten

The courtyard of the museum contains an ancient Roman temple, probably attached to the Forum.

Location: Hôtel du Laval, rue de la République

Les Alyscamps

This was a legendary place of great Christian victories over the Saracens, and the place where the wonderful marble sarcophagi were discovered in the Roman necropolis, the largest collection in western Europe of marble sarcophagi outside Rome. This is still a beautiful place, although the best sarcophagi have been removed to various churches and museums of Arles.

Location: Ave des Alyscamps, southeast of the town center.

Roman Circus

Circus buildings were the largest public buildings in the Roman world, and a circus was about four times longer than an amphitheater. The Arles circus arena was probably big enough to race twelve chariots at at time, and the finish line in front of the the imperial box was marked by an obelisk.

Location: southwest of the center, between the autoroute and the Rhône beside the Musée de l'Arles Antiques.

Musée de l'Arles Antiques

Location: Presqu'ïle de Cirque Romain; southwest of the center, between the autoroute and the Rhône beside the Roman Circus

Open: Apr-Sept, 9h00-20h00; Oct-Mar, 10h00-18h00, closed Tue

Musée; Calvet

Created in 1823, from church confiscations during the Revolution, this is one of the earliest museums in the region.

Location: 65 Rue Joseph-Vernet

Open: 10h00-12h00, 14h00-18h00; closed Tue

Musée Lapidaire

Location: 27 Rue de la République

Open: 9h00-12h00, 14h00-18h00, closed Tue

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