Beaucaire / Arles

This stretch links two towns packed with fascinating history and monuments. At Beaucaire, the river port reaches into the heart of the old town, a place to enjoy many discoveries. Arles, with splendid Roman and medieval monuments, boasts an exceptionally rich heritage. This provisional but signposted portion of ViaRhôna takes you along quiet roads, across a plain crisscrossed by tracks to remote mas (the name for the farms in the parts) and by irrigation canals helping water the crops and orchards here. You then enter Arles from the southwest.

The route

This stretch is signposted along quiet roads, although note that there is no signposting in Fourques – pick it up again after you have crossed the Petit Rhône via the old stone bridge at the exit from that village. To enter Arles from the southwest, you need to use the tunnel passing under the motorway bridge. There is lighting in this tunnel, but note that the tunnel is fairly long.

Railway station (SNCF):

• Beaucaire
• Tarascon
• Arles

Tourist Information Centres:

• Office de tourisme de Beaucaire terre d’Argence Ph : +334 66 59 26 57
• Office de tourisme d’Arles Ph :+334 90 18 41 20
• Office de tourisme de Tarascon Ph : +334 90 91 03 52

Don’t miss

Beaucaire: the medieval castle perched on its rock above the Rhône; fine mansions; the underground Abbaye Troglodytique de Saint-Roman et l’Aiguille; the river port; Le Vieux Mas (a traditional working farm between Beaucaire and Saint-Gilles).
Tarascon: the Château du Roi René by the Rhône; the medieval Collégiale Sainte Marthe church; the Cloître des Cordeliers (cloisters); the Abbaye St Michel de Frigolet (5km away)
Arles: declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional Roman and Romanesque monuments; the Roman amphitheatre (known as Les Arènes); the Roman theatre; the Musée Départemental Arles Antique (displaying fabulous classical finds); Alyscamps Necropolis; the Romanesque abbeys of St-Trophime and Montmajour (the latter on the edge of town, also a contemporary arts centre); Museon Arlaten, on Provençal traditions; Musée Réattu, for the arts and photography; Espace Van Gogh, dedicated to the great Dutch Impressionist artist who spent an intense time here; Les Rencontres d’Arles, a major annual photographic festival