Arènes d'Arles

Arles

Arles was a colony of Caesar, founded in 46 BC for the veterans of the Sixth Legion, and it wanted its amphitheatre: it was built around 80–90, on two levels of sixty arcades, one hundred and thirty-six metres long, for some twenty thousand spectators. It is the brother of the one at Nîmes, barely larger and a little less well preserved, because it has been used more. At the end of the 6th century, when the invasions turned amphitheatres into the refuges of towns, that of Arles became a fortress: four square towers were raised on its arcades, the openings were blocked, and inside settled more than two hundred houses and two chapels — a whole quarter, with its streets, which would live there until the 19th century. It took half a century of expropriations, completed in 1825 under the mayor Baron de Chartrouse, to give the monument back to itself; the last houses fell after 1830, and Prosper Mérimée had it listed on the very first list of 1840. Three of the four medieval towers would seem to have remained, which distinguishes Arles from Nîmes at first glance. Since then, the arena has recovered its use: bullfights, Camargue races, shows; gladiators have even been seen to return there, in re-enactment. The ancient theatre, next door, and the primatial church of Saint-Trophime, a little lower down, complete the visit.

Wikipédia — Arènes d'Arles ↗

Getting there : Entrance by the rond-point des Arènes; car parks on the edge of the old town, parking difficult in season. Paid monument, open all year except during shows; combined ticket with the ancient theatre and the other Roman monuments of Arles. The bullfights and Camargue races of the Easter and September ferias, like the Cocarde d'or in July, close the monument to visitors: enquire before coming. An hour is enough; climb the tower for the view.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound