Arles - The City Tour

The city of Arles has been one of the most interesting places we've been to.  It has such a history, we devoted a day to get to know what this city is all about.  Here's a short summary: humans lived in the area before the bronze age, Greeks came here, then Romans, then it was a city state, then it was bombed durring WWII, and now it's a sleepy town with a very unique feel.  It's hard to tell were old Arles ends and new Arles begins.  Here are some pictures of the town and its antiquity museum:

This Lion head sculpture stood at the entrance through the city walls durring Roman times.  The lion represents the City.



Here you walk through pastel colored homes to find Arles' Notre Dame church.

Here's Roman mosaics found under the Rhone River next to Arles.

Walking through the streets you'll find examples of how old melds into new.  Here homes are built into an old church wall.

Some of the old gargoyles still stand.

Here we see a model of one of the grain grinders the Romans made in the hills by Arles.  Water was used to power the grinders that made wheat into bread for the Legions.

One of the more complete Roman statues found in Arles.

A statue of Cesar himself is a good indicaiton of how important Arles was to the Romans.

All in all we really liked the feel of this city.  It goes at its own pace so you just float along with it.  We're in Italy now safe and sound in Florence.  Get ready for some awesome Italian pictures.