James Gaston

Au revoir Carcassonne

Map of Arles

Arles market and museum 25 Oct 2022 Arles market and museum 25 Oct 2022 Arles --

We're in Arles, and we are staying right in the middle of town. From our front door it is a block south to Cathédrale Saint-Trophime d'Arles and Place de la République. If instead you head north it's a block to the Roman Théâtre Antique and a block further is the giant Roman Amphithéâtre. Check out the next post for a map.

We are staying in a well-equipped and comfortable one-bedroom apartment on Rue de la Calade. The building is old and run down, the drab hallway calling for a fresh coat of paint, but the apartment, which is above a doctor's office, is bright and modern. What seems a first for us: the shower has no flaws. Hot water, check. No leaks, check. Well-positioned shower head, check.

This morning we walked through the Saturday¹ street market, the biggest in the area, and then on to the Musée Départemental Arles Antique or Ancient History Museum, the highlight of which is a 2,000-year-old wooden barge that was recently recovered from the bottom of the Rhône river. Discovered in 2004 and lifted out in 2011, it took several years to restore the 31-meter-long barge, by which time the museum built a new wing just for its display. The barge was disassembled under water then transferred to Grenoble where the water in the wood was replaced by a plastic resin. The barge was then reassembled and its restoration completed. The story of its discovery and restoration is told in a film that is shown in a small theatre in the museum.

¹Posts run a few days late. Click on a photo's caption to see the date taken.