Mapping the path

PROVENCE TO PARIS

Arles & Avignon Deux

We return to both Arles and Avignon, this time following tours that take us to breathtaking Roman monuments, scenes painted by Van Gogh, and a variety of local delicacies.

A Tour of Arles

I woke early and climbed up to the sun deck for a view of the Rhône. The boat’s gray topside blended in with the steely water below and the receding fog covering Arles. I felt a little disoriented but at peace. I was off the hook for a while, no longer responsible for keeping us to an itinerary, finding parking, or getting us to the street with all the shops. Over the next six days, the unknown would be defined, the hidden revealed. For now, I took in a moment of stillness, while two decks below, passengers streamed into the main restaurant, fueling up for a busy first day.

Marianne felt adequately acquainted with Arles and less so with our comfortable bed aboard the AmaStella, so she remained behind while I donned an earpiece and joined the morning tour of the city. It was a short walk from port to the Porte de la Cavalerie, the northern gates of the old city, built in 1588. The name assigned to this entrypoint between two limestone towers recalls the Knights Templar, who maintained a base in this district in the Middle Ages.

The city of Arles lies just north of the Camargue delta, a vast expanse of marshy wetlands on the Mediterranean between the two southern branches of the Rhône. Ligurians, Phoenicians, and Celts lived in the area before the Romans arrived in 123 BC, transforming it into an important city in the empire. The leaders of Arles (then called Arelate) sided with Julius Caesar in his struggle for power against Pompey, who was backed by Marseilles (Massalia). When Caesar (and Arelate) emerged victorious, the city’s power and influence grew immensely.

Workers renovating the street just inside the gate marred the scene with tumult and noise. But our tour quickly turned down quieter passageways for respite.

We soon came upon the impressive Arles Amphitheater, constructed in 90 AD on a small hill in the middle of the city. Its elevated position gives it added gravitas upon approach.

The amphitheater once held more than 20,000 spectators, who witnessed chariot races and hand-to-hand combat. Today, it is primarily used for “bullfighting” — more of a game in which the participants attempt to retrieve ribbons tied to bulls’ horns — along with occasional concerts and theater.

Next we stopped at the Roman Theatre, built in the first century during the reign of Caesar Augustus. It once boasted 33 rows of seating — 8,000 seats in all — and is still used for theatrical and musical performances. We poked our cameras through the closed gates for glimpses.

The tour stopped by Place de la République, which Marianne and I had seen the previous day. We then proceeded to a garden courtyard that was the subject of one of Vincent Van Gogh’s more famous works. Van Gogh painted Le Jardin de la Maison de Santé à Arles during one of his three stays at the surrounding hospital in 1888-1889, before he decamped to Saint-Rémy.

We continued our guided wander through Arles, passing by the Bigourdan distillery, a local maker of artisanal London Dry gins with an English distiller at the helm.

We finished at Place du Forum, a leafy square with a cafe at one end that is featured in another Van Gogh masterpiece, Terrace of a Café at Night; and a statue at its center of Occitan writer Frédéric Mistral, who promoted the Provençal language and won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people.”

I returned to the boat, which was docked near a 19th-century railway bridge destroyed by bombing in World War II. We sat down to lunch as the AmaCello sailed about 20 miles north to Avignon.

Avignon Tasting Tour

Shortly after we arrived in Avignon, we set out on the afternoon “Tastes of Avignon” tour. Marianne and I had received our own taste of Avignon three days earlier, shopping its bustling streets before an anniversary dinner next to the Papal Palace. Now we would get to try a few local delicacies following the lead of our tour guide.

Our first stop was Chez Mamie, a restaurant that had been set up for our group’s arrival. We were served a red wine from the Vacqueyras region — about 25 miles northeast of Avignon — produced by Domaine de la Libellule. Made with grenache and syrah, it was a fruity, approachable Rhône wine, enjoyable enough but not nearly as robust as the Châteauneuf-du-Pape we had tasted earlier in the trip. We tried it with some citron-flavored extra virgin olive oil on sourdough bread.

As we walked to our next destination, we passed by Saint Jean Tower, the last vestige of a grand house once owned by the Knights Templar. Like many properties, the house was sold following the French Revolution. It was later converted into barracks before being destroyed by fire in 1898.

Our tour took us to shops to sample cookies, nougat, meats, and mustards, giving us plenty of time to explore neighboring stores along the way.

We finished at the Opera House, built in 1847 along the shady promenade of Rue de la République. Near its grand edifice, a two-level Belle Epoque carousel turned cheery horses to the delight of youngsters.

We decided to stay in the city a little longer before returning to the boat and found ourselves back at the same brasserie we had visited three days before, sipping the same tasty Hugo Spritzes.

That night, we ate dinner aboard our ship at The Chef’s Table. Much smaller than the main restaurant, The Chef’s Table is available to passengers for one night during the course of each journey. Under classy bistro lighting, we looked out onto the glittering river while we enjoyed a fantastic meal of delectable treats paired with Rhône wine, sharing stories and laughter with two other couples.

Later that night, the anchor was raised, and we slid away from port, gliding past Saint Bénézet's Bridge, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1177, a young shepherd named Bénézet is said to have been sent by God from the Ardèche mountains to Avignon to construct the bridge, which once had 22 arches and stretched for 1,000 yards. The bridge served as a key crossing point for religious pilgrimages in the Middle Ages, particularly once the Papal Palace had been constructed in Avignon in the 14th century. A small chapel that survives on the eastern side of the bridge once contained the remains of Saint Bénézet, which are now kept in Avignon Cathedral.

The bridge suffered damage from flooding throughout the 1600s, with sections of arches washing away. Attempts to rebuild were never enough, and it has remained a partial bridge for hundreds of years. The Rhône was much more placid on this cool fall evening, and we admired the view under a brilliant full moon as we sailed on to Viviers.

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