In the Footsteps of Van Gogh - Tour from Marseille

Itinerary

Your driver/guide will pick you up in an air-conditioned coach/ vehicle for this Footsteps of Van Gogh Tour. Your guide speaks French and English.

Drive across the scenic Crau Plain to the Unesco World Heritage city of Arles on the banks of the Grand Rhône River, where you will take in the following sites:

• Coliseum: Once the Roman forum of Arles, the coliseum now hosts the best bull fighters this side of Madrid.

• Ancient Theater: Two Corinthian columns are all that remain of this once great theater, which was built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in the 1st century and entertained crowds of up to 20,000 in its prime.

• Church of Saint Trophime: Built on the site of the 5th century basilica of Arles, this Roman Catholic sanctuary is a standout example of Romanesque architecture and shelters a famous sculpture of the Last Judgment.

• Forum Square: Site of a masterly statue of Frédéric Mistral, a famous French poet and key figure in the revival of Provencal language and literature.

• Van Gogh’s Bridge: Formerly the Langlois Bridge, the overpass became known to locals as Van Gogh’s Bridge after his vibrant rendering of it in The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing.

• Hotel Dieu: Van Gogh was a patient at this former hospital and put it on the map with his bleak, wintry depiction of its courtyard.

• Van Gogh’s Café: Scene of the painter’s immortal Café Terrace at Night, one of the most remarkable works in Van Gogh’s all-too-brief career.

• Abbey of Montmajour: Just outside of Arles, on the road to Les Baux de Provence, you will stop at this fortified Benedictine Monastery, which was an important pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages and houses an underground crypt.

• Mill of Daudet: French novelist Alphonse Daudet alludes to this lonesome windmill in his famous Lettres de Mon Moulin.

Stop for lunch in the perched village of Les Baux de Provence, a ghostly medieval remnant that offers spectacular views of the Provence countryside

Visit an olive farm in Les Baux and learn from its proprietors about the delicate process of making olive oil. Finish the day with a tasting of the regional oils that have made Provence famous.

Close the day with a memorable drive through the Alpilles mountains to the picturesque village of Saint Rémy de Provence, where Van Gogh turned his eyes to the night sky and was moved to create Starry Night.

Your driver will drop you back at your hotel/pick up point in Marseille at tour’s end.