South of France: Arles and Camargue

Arles is an ancient town in the south of France, on the Mediterranean coast. Settled since the time of the Greeks, the town is more than 2,500 years old. The most famous recent inhabitant was Van Gogh, who produced 300+ of his paintings here.


During it early history, it was also in the possession of the Romans, who left it with a mini-Colosseum of its own. (The Romans actually built amphitheaters or full arenas in many of their ancient towns. Colosseum is just the biggest and most famous of them.)


Many streets retain their Medieval character.


Local sports games add flavor too.


And now for the real flavor: typical South French pastry shop:








Our rental car. I booked a regular car, but they were all out of it - and this was the next size available.


A few miles south of the town is the Camargue marsh. With its flamingoes, it's a big nature destination. But it's also famous for its free-roaming white horses and stout black bulls.










The symbol of France, free-growing all over Camargue.