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Visiting Vincent in Arles

 Arles is one of the most famous Vincent locations. I had the opportunity to visit there in December 2023.

I caught a train from Avignon, where I was staying for four days. The people at the Avignon Visitors Centre were very helpful and gave me timetables, maps and information about the journey.  The train was late, but usually they run almost every hour. Once on the train it was an easy trip to and from Avignon and took less than half an hour.  If you are interested in visiting the Vincent sites in Provence, and like me, prefer to use public transport, Avignon is a good base. It is a lovely city with interesting historic sites and easy access to both St Remy and Arles. 



First stop was the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation, where I picked up a map of Vincent sites in the city.




There were nine sites on the map and I found eight. Here is my adventure


1. The easiest site to find was the former hospital. Now called Espace Van Gogh, it features a recreation of the garden to reflect Vincent's painting. There is now an arts centre, a library a cafe and a shop selling souvenirs (mostly Vincent related) located there. 





 
 



2. The night Cafe. No signage here, but the cafe advertises as Vincent's night cafe. It was closed.


3. The Trinquetaille bridge- This area was damaged in World War 2, however it has been suggested that the tree is the same tree that Vincent painted.



4. The Arles arena. Seeing this was a thrill for me, because I have seen the original painting in St Petersburg. The arena just sits like a giant obstacle in the centre of the city.




5. The Yellow House- It does not exist any more of course, but you can still recognise the train bridge in the right hand side of the painting.




6. Starry Night on the Rhone. It was hard to pinpoint the exact location and the place indicated was blocked by houseboats. So I took a photo from a spot nearby.







7. Les Alycamps. This was a beautiful spot just outside the city . So peaceful and quiet, I can see why Vincent and Gauguin painted it. I had to pay 5 Euros to visit it. The site still has some of the features that can be seen in the painting, but I believe much of it has been recreated. 







8. The Garden at Arles. It was difficult to see Vincent's view here, but I was on the spot where Vincent painted, so I didn't mind at all.




Overall I had a very successful day in Arles. It was mostly free, except for entrance to the arena and Les Alycamps, and I met some other people also searching for Vincent. The next day I went to St Remy to visit the asylum.









 




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