Arles, the Roman city and gateway to the evangelisation

When tradition brings the Saints ashore in the Camargue, Arles is one of the great cities of the Roman Empire, the "little Rome of Gaul". Its amphitheatre, its ancient theatre, its baths and the Alyscamps necropolis still bear witness to that splendour, which earned the city its UNESCO World Heritage listing.

It is in this Roman world that Provençal Christianity takes root. Arles very early becomes one of the great Christian sees of Gaul, hosting councils and primates. The sculpted portal of Saint-Trophime cathedral, an absolute masterpiece of Provençal Romanesque art, and its cloister with finely carved capitals rank among the most beautiful pages in stone of Western Christendom.

A city of art then as now, from Van Gogh to the Rencontres de la photographie, Arles is the first base of our tour: a city on a human scale, where evenings are made for wandering between terraces and ancient stone.