Keeping up with the Romans: Exploring Provence

With two weeks into our journey, we finally made it to Provence, the region we’ll call home for the upcoming year. Still a week+ before gaining access to our house, we took this time to explore a few of Provence’s top attractions led by charming villages, ancient Roman sites, and bucolic landscapes. Some were familiar to us from previous visits while others expanded our coverage of the area. Our B&B for this leg of the trip was located just where the Rhône River splits Beaucaire and Tarascon, two facing towns whose castles define their presence along the Rhône — a great setting with easy access to numerous points of interest.

In this post we featured much of what we covered in Provence (and its nearby regions), and broke it up in two parts. We spread ourselves to quite a few places within a 5-day stretch.

Part 1: Tarascon, Arles and Les-Baux-de-Provence

En route to Arles (one of our favorite Provençal cities), we paid visit to Tarascon Castle and learned about its colorful history as a defensive fortress, a landmark combining gothic and renaissance features, and a prison (with everlasting inscriptions on its limestone walls reflective of names and dates the captives were there).

In Arles our multi-attraction tickets (a better value vs. a singular attraction), was a no-brainer and paved our path to several key attractions: the Cryptoportique (underground crypt), the Amphitheater and the regular Theater, all part of the city’s rich Roman legacy. Arles served as a provincial capital during Roman times and bore cultural and religious significance for the empire. The vestiges we visited offered a sense of the ancient thriving city, a proof-point that Romans knew how to live. Arles is known for art and the attraction of several masters who lived or painted copiously there, among them Van Gogh, Picasso, Gauguin and others. And walking around town one can discover many of Van Gogh’s paintings or points of interest that were expressed in his work. Brigitte and I visited Arles 10 years ago while on our trip around the world and returning here held a special place in our hearts (as does much of Provence). Pretty sure this place tends to have this affect on most people who visit.

Les Baux-de-Provence was next, the old village perched on a giant rock (part of the Alpilles Mountains), and its castle (mostly in ruins), took up our morning. The vast views of the landscape from Les Baux were to be savored, pushing back the horizon revealing a tapestry of vineyards, olive groves, and occasional cypress trees. After taking in the views and lunch, we headed over to the Carrières de Lumières for the art spectacle inside a quarry (years running now), featuring the works of masters projected on the massive walls to music. Cezanne and Kandinsky were the featured artists.

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Part 2: Point du Gard, Uzès and Saint-Rémy-en-Provence

The following day we hit Pont du Gard (the ancient Roman aqueduct), with a morning stop in the town of Uzès just a short drive north of the aqueduct. Known for its Roman and Medieval heritage and more recently its art scene and Saturday market, Uzès made for a fun discovery. It’s also the point of origin for the Roman aqueduct that supplied water 30 miles away to present day city of Nîmes (a former regional capital and awesome city with very well preserved Roman architectural interests). Pont du Gard’s three tiers of arches crossing the Gardon River are the best preserved section of the aqueduct and made for a unique backdrop to the beach-like setting where sunbathers, swimmers and kayakers converged. The water was clear and refreshing on a day that pushed the mercury level up to 90-degrees.

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence concluded our tour of the area. The town (like Arles), is renown for Van Gogh as well, with some of the master’s most recognized works having been created here. Roman ruins, charming streets with colorful shops and plazas also help define the town. Oh, and it’s the birthplace of Michel de Nostradame (aka Nostradamus), whose bust and statues appear in various parts of town. If you have a chance to visit St. Rémy, there’s lots to make it worth your time, this I “prophesize”!

The next few days will see us in Toulon spending time with friends. Stay tuned for the next update!