Biking in Provence Day 3 – Fontvielle Loop Ride

The highlight of the Fontvielle loop ride was the town of Arles. We planned to just have lunch there and ended up spending most of the day, then racing back to our hotel late in the day (foregoing a visit to a 10th-century abbey in the process). Totally worth it, though – we explored the town, bartered with vendors at a market for old crap (successfully wearing down one of them throughout the day to secure a cool Bourdeaux bottle opener), and had a leisurely lunch at an outdoor cafe made famous by a 19th-century post-Impressionist painting.

Arles was a notable Roman city beginning in the 1st century BC, and its power peaked in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The town features an old Roman forum and an amphitheater that’s still used for bullfighting (surprisingly popular in Provence and other areas of southern France).

The town also was the home of Van Gogh in 1888 and 1889, during which time he produced more than 300 paintings, including a framed print that was hanging up in our house at the time. We totally stumbled across the location featured in the print without realizing it was in Arles and it made our day.

Daudet’s Windmill outside Fontvielle, featured in his Lettres de mon moulin (Letters from My Windmill)

Nice estate encountered on the way to Arles

Town square / Roman forum in the middle of Arles

Cool fountain in the town square / Roman forum

Van Gogh!

A cafe in Arles – this looked familiar . . .

Van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace at Night

The perfect location for a few drinks before checking out Arles

Roman ruins incorporated into 19th-century building

The Romanesque (but, of course) church of St. Trophime, built between the 12th and 15th centuries

It sits on the foundation of the much earlier 5th-century basilica of Arles

Ornate scenes of the Last Judgement at the entrance

Built in 90 AD, the Arles amphitheater was capable of seating more than 20,000 spectators, and was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and gladiatorial combat. It’s used today for bullfighting and concerts.

With the fall of the roman Empire in the 5th century, the amphitheater became a shelter for the population and was transformed into a fortress with four towers. The structure encircled more than 200 houses, becoming a legit town, with its public square built in the center of the arena and two chapels, one in the center of the building, and another one at the base of the west tower.

View of Arles from the amphitheater:

Actual travel date: October 2, 2002