Arles
France
A small Roman town on the Rhône where Van Gogh painted for fifteen months, and the gateway to the Camargue
Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash
Photos by Baptiste Buisson, isaac d and Susan Jones on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
April to June, and September to October — high summer brings the photography festival and the Camargue mosquitoes together
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 95mm in Oct
Where it is
43.68°N, 4.63°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Come on a Saturday for the market and stay till evening
- Find the café Van Gogh painted at night on Place du Forum, then go and eat somewhere else
- See the Alyscamps, the Roman necropolis, which most visitors miss
- Drive the Camargue to the Pont de Gau bird park for the flamingos
- Time a summer visit for the Rencontres photography festival, when half the town becomes a gallery
Arles travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeCards everywhere in town. Some stallholders at the Saturday market and the smaller manades out in the Camargue prefer cash. Refuse the conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your own currency.
ATMs & cards
Use the bank machines on the Boulevard des Lices and round Place de la République. The Camargue villages have few, so take cash before you drive out.
Avoid these
- stand-alone machines that offer to convert to your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Société Générale
- BNP Paribas
- La Banque Postale
Take cash in Arles before driving out into the Camargue, where machines are few.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeQuiet and safe in the old town. What goes wrong here is cars broken into at the Camargue beaches and nature reserves, and the mosquitoes, which from late spring into autumn are a serious matter in the delta — repellent and long sleeves at dusk. The mistral can blow hard for days. In the arena at feria time there are bullfights in which the bull is killed; the course camarguaise, where it is not, is a different event.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- the old town — round the arena and the theatre
- Place du Forum
- the Boulevard des Lices
- the Roquette quarter
Worth more attention
- the Camargue beach car parks — break-ins at Beauduc and the nature-reserve car parks are routine; leave nothing in the car
- Mosquitoes in the delta from late spring into autumn, worst at dusk
- The mistral, which can blow for three days and makes cycling in the Camargue hard work
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodGardiane de taureau, a slow bull-meat stew, is the dish to try, with red Camargue rice beside it. The Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices is one of the largest in Provence and runs for the length of the boulevard. Saucisson d’Arles is the other local name to look for.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Arles
No Holistay rentals in Arles yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Arles on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Marseille Provence MRS
1hfrom the airport· 54 km as the crow flies
About an hour by hire car; by public transport it is a bus into Marseille and the train back out.
Also worth pricing: Nîmes–Alès–Camargue–Cévennes FNI — twenty-five minutes away, but Ryanair only and mostly seasonal.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
