Free Walking Tour Arles: Roman Arena to Van Gogh's Garden

From a two thousand year old arena to the hospital garden Van Gogh painted, ending on a café terrace in the old town.

6 Stops 2.5 km ~36 min walking
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Route map for the Arles walking tour
Stop 1 of 6
360 m·4 min
Arles Amphitheatre
Head south-west toward the Ancient Theatre of Arles
Bonjour, welcome to Arles. I'm Alex, and this Roman arena once became a medieval neighborhood.
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This Arles Route at a Glance

Six stops from the Arles Amphitheatre to Place du Forum: 2.5 km with 36 minutes of pure walking. With the interiors worth paying for and a drink at the end, plan on about three and a half hours.

The Espace Van Gogh garden, the Church of Saint-Trophime and Place du Forum are free; the amphitheatre, theatre, Alyscamps and cloister charge entry. Route, map and GPS navigation are free in your browser; the optional AI Tour Guide leads the walk as a conversation.

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This short shows highlights of the route. All 6 stops follow below.

The Route

Walking Map of Arles: Arena to Forum in 2.5 km

6 stops 2.5 km 36 min walking
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The 6 stops along this route

  1. Arles Amphitheatre, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Arles Amphitheatre
  2. Ancient Theatre of Arles, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Ancient Theatre of Arles
  3. Alyscamps in Arles, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Alyscamps
  4. Espace Van Gogh in Arles, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Espace Van Gogh
  5. Church of Saint-Trophime in Arles, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Church of Saint-Trophime
  6. Place du Forum in Arles, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Place du Forum
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Your Arles Walking Tour Stop by Stop, from Rome to Van Gogh

  1. 1

    Arles Amphitheatre

    Arles Amphitheatre, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    Start where Roman Arles is still most present: the great oval of the amphitheatre, the Arènes d'Arles. It went up in the 80s AD on the orders of Emperor Domitian, part of the Flavian expansion of the town, and two thousand years on it remains the most important monument of the old Roman colony that you can still see.

    Look at it as a machine for spectacle. Its whole architecture was planned around one job: bringing a large public in to watch big shows and getting it out again. Walking around the outside already gives you the size of it.

    Go inside if the Romans are part of why you came to Arles; only from within do you feel the scale of the crowd it was built for. Buy the combined ticket here if you also want the theatre.

    From the arena it is 360 m, about 5 minutes on foot, to the Ancient Theatre of Arles, a building roughly a century older than the one you are leaving.

    Local name
    Arènes d'Arles
    Hours
    May–Sep: daily 09:00–19:00; Mar–Apr & Oct: daily 09:00–18:00; Nov–Feb: daily 10:30–16:30
    Price
    11 EUR full, 9 EUR reduced
  2. 2

    Ancient Theatre of Arles

    Ancient Theatre of Arles, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    The theatre belongs to the very beginning of Roman Arles. Work started around 40 or 30 BC under Augustus, just after the colony was founded, and it was finished around 12 BC, which makes it one of the first stone theatres anywhere in the Roman world.

    It was laid out on the decumanus, one of the main axes of the Roman street grid, so you are standing on the original plan of the town. France put it on its very first list of historic monuments in 1840.

    Inside you trade the arena's thrill of combat for the theatre's quieter world of stage and audience. With the combined ticket in your pocket it is worth half an hour; if you have to choose only one Roman interior, the amphitheatre is the bigger experience.

    Next comes the longest leg: 890 m, about 12 minutes, out to the Alyscamps, where the Romans buried their dead.

    Local name
    Théâtre antique d'Arles
    Hours
    May–Sep: daily 09:00–19:00; Mar–Apr & Oct: daily 09:00–18:00; Nov–Feb: daily 10:30–16:30
    Price
    11 EUR combined ticket (with Amphitheatre)
  3. 3

    Alyscamps

    Alyscamps in Arles, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    The Alyscamps is a necropolis that goes back to Roman times, a city of the dead at the edge of the living one. Its long allée of tombs belongs to the town of Arles.

    That ownership has its own fame: the allée was the subject of a well known ruling by France's Council of State on what counts as public property, so this quiet path also has a place in French law.

    Entry is paid. It suits anyone who likes slow, atmospheric places more than grand façades; give it half an hour. If you are short on time, this is the stop you can drop most easily.

    From here you walk 920 m, about 13 minutes, back into town to the Espace Van Gogh, passing the green of the Jardin d'Été on the way.

    Hours
    May–Sep: daily 09:00–19:00; Mar–Apr & Oct: daily 09:00–18:00; Nov–Feb: daily 10:30–16:30
    Price
    5 EUR full, 4 EUR reduced
  4. 4

    Espace Van Gogh

    Espace Van Gogh in Arles, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    This courtyard was once the town hospital, and in 1888 and 1889 Vincent van Gogh was treated here. He painted it as “The Courtyard of the Hospital in Arles”.

    The garden has since been replanted to match his painting: colourful flower beds around a central fountain. Hold up a picture of the canvas on your phone and you can compare almost bed by bed.

    The courtyard and garden are free to enter. A quarter of an hour is enough unless you want to sit with it.

    Saint-Trophime is only 240 m, about 3 minutes, away; the short walk crosses Boulevard des Lices.

    Hours
    Courtyard & garden: daily 07:30–19:30 (Médiathèque: Tue/Thu/Fri 13:00–18:30, Wed 10:00–18:30, Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun–Mon closed)
    Price
    Free
  5. 5

    Church of Saint-Trophime

    Church of Saint-Trophime in Arles, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    Saint-Trophime stands on Place de la République and counts among the most important Romanesque buildings in Provence. It was built from 1100 onwards on remains from late antiquity. Stand in front of the carved portal first: it dates from around 1180 or 1190, while the two pedimented doors beside it were only added in the late 17th century.

    Inside, the high nave of five bays with its pointed barrel vault dates from the mid 12th century; the dome over the crossing carries the bell tower. The choir and ambulatory are 15th century, and the square tower replaced an earlier one in the early 13th century, its top floor rebuilt in the 17th.

    The church is free to enter. The cloister, reached through the courtyard of the building next to the church, has its own admission charge and is worth it for anyone who enjoys sculpture: the north and east galleries are Romanesque with fine 12th century carvings, the south and west galleries Gothic from the late 14th century, so you see both styles side by side.

    The last leg is just 140 m, about 2 minutes, to Place du Forum.

    Hours
    Daily 09:30–19:00
    Price
    Free (church); Cloister: 6 EUR full, 5 EUR reduced
  6. 6

    Place du Forum

    Place du Forum in Arles, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    Place du Forum is a historic square in the heart of Arles, free and open around the clock, and best known for the terrace of the Café Van Gogh.

    After arena, tombs, garden and portal, the route ends not at another monument but on a terrace. Order something, sit down and let the morning settle.

    If you started at the amphitheatre, the GPS navigation will lead you back there through the old town whenever you are ready.

    Hours
    24/7
    Price
    Free
Walking tour route map of Arles Route loaded
Arles AmphitheatreAncient Theatre of ArlesAlyscampsEspace Van Gogh+2
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AI Tour Guide

You know the way now. Walk it with a guide in your ear.

Press start wherever you are, even hundreds of kilometres from Arles, and the guide begins telling its stories right away. In the city, pick any of the 6 stops to start from: it leads you there, then talks with you the whole route, asking, listening, remembering, and shaping the tour around your answers.

6stops 2.5km 36 minwalking 13languages
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Shorter Ways to Walk Arles

Not everyone has a full morning. The route splits cleanly into a Roman half and a Van Gogh and old town half, and you can walk either one on its own.

Roman Arles only

Stops: 1, 2, 3

For history lovers who came for the Romans. Amphitheatre, ancient theatre and the Alyscamps take 17 minutes of walking between them. You pay for the combined ticket of arena and theatre plus the Alyscamps.

Van Gogh and the old town, almost free

Stops: 4, 5, 6

For a short visit or a late start. The hospital garden, Saint-Trophime and Place du Forum sit just 5 minutes of walking apart. Everything is free; only the cloister of Saint-Trophime costs extra if you want to see it.

How Long the Arles Walk Takes with Arena, Alyscamps and Cloister

The walking itself is 36 minutes over 2.5 km. The real time goes into the places: roughly 45 minutes inside the amphitheatre, half an hour in the ancient theatre, half an hour among the tombs of the Alyscamps, a quarter of an hour in the Van Gogh garden and about 45 minutes for Saint-Trophime with its cloister. Start at 09:00 at the arena and you reach the theatre around 09:50, the Alyscamps around 10:32, the Espace Van Gogh around 11:15, Saint-Trophime around 11:33 and Place du Forum around 12:20. Sit down for a drink and the whole walk comes to about three and a half hours.

The Roman half alone takes about two hours with all three visits. The Van Gogh and old town half needs a little over an hour if you include the cloister, less if you only look at the garden and the church.

Before You Set Off in Arles

  • Start and finish: The recommended start is the Arles Amphitheatre and the walk ends at Place du Forum. You can join at any stop. From the forum, the GPS navigation leads you back to the arena if you want it to.
  • When to go: The amphitheatre, the ancient theatre and the Alyscamps are the three paid Roman sites. Start in the morning, once they have opened, and you see all of them before lunch; in winter the days are shorter, so set off without delay.
  • Costs: The walk is free. The amphitheatre, the ancient theatre (on a combined ticket with the amphitheatre), the Alyscamps and the cloister of Saint-Trophime charge admission. The Van Gogh garden, the church and Place du Forum are free.
Walking tour route map of Arles
AI Tour Guide

Your guide is waiting at the arena when you are.

Press start and a voice AI Tour Guide takes it from here: leading the route through Arles, telling the stories, and turning your walk into a real back-and-forth conversation. No app or download is needed; it runs in your browser.

6stops 2.5km 36 minwalking 13languages
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What the AI Tour Guide Adds Between Arena and Forum

On this route the AI Tour Guide turns two very different Arles stories, the Roman town and Van Gogh's year here, into one conversation. It greets you at the arena, tells the stories of each place, asks whether you lean towards the Romans or the painter and remembers your answer for the rest of the walk; you can interrupt it whenever something catches your eye. Ask it what a day of shows in the arena looked like, or what Van Gogh's months in the hospital were like, and it goes deeper. Route, map and GPS navigation stay free; the guide starts with 100 free credits, after which you choose between this tour all-inclusive for €19.99 with no time limit or credits at €5 per hour.

A Real Conversation A voice AI Tour Guide greets you, leads the whole route, and tells the stories and facts as you walk, asking what you want to see and keeping a real conversation going. Not a recording you press play on.
Map Navigation Follow the route on the map and walk at your own pace. You choose where to start and when to move to the next stop.
Ask Anything Curious about a building you pass? Ask your AI Tour Guide on the spot and the conversation carries on.
13 Languages Switch language anytime. No separate tour needed.
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Common Questions About Walking Arles

Does one ticket cover the amphitheatre and the ancient theatre?

Yes. The ancient theatre is sold on a combined ticket with the amphitheatre. Ask for the combined ticket at the first desk and you are set for both.

Are there reduced prices?

Yes, the amphitheatre, the Alyscamps and the cloister of Saint-Trophime all offer reduced tickets. Who qualifies is explained at each ticket desk.

Do I need a ticket for the Van Gogh garden?

No, the courtyard and garden of the Espace Van Gogh are free to visit. Only the médiathèque inside the building keeps its own, separate hours.

Which towns near Arles have their own walking tour?

Roman Nîmes is 28 km away and Avignon 34 km, both easy day trips. A little further, Aix-en-Provence is 68 km and Marseille 73 km.

Is the tour really free?

Yes. The whole tour is free: the route, the interactive map and the navigation cost you nothing. Only the voice AI Tour Guide is optional and paid: you test it with 100 free credits, then you pay either €5 per hour or €19.99 for this whole tour, with no time limit. Admission to 3 of the 6 stops is not included: Arles Amphitheatre, Ancient Theatre of Arles and Alyscamps charge their own entry fees.

Do I need to download an app?

No. Everything runs in your phone browser. Open the route and start walking, no download and no sign-up required.

Do I need to book the walking tour in advance?

No booking needed. This self-guided tour is available anytime. Open the route in your browser and start walking. The AI Tour Guide works instantly, no app, no reservation required.

What languages is the AI Tour Guide available in?

The AI Tour Guide speaks 13 languages, so you take the tour in your own language and can switch at any time.

Can I skip stops or change the route?

Yes. Skip any stop, spend extra time at places you like, or start the route from any point. It is your walk, you set the pace.
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