Arles was built on a rock above the marsh at the head of the Rhône delta. During the 4th century, Celtic tribes founded a town on the hill which the Romans transcribed as Arelate - "the town near the marsh" - to compete with the powerful Massilia.

The conquest of Provence in 118 BC by the Romans allowed it to expand rapidly. The town helped Julius Caesar during the Marseilles siege by supplying him with 49 ships in a month. As a token of gratitude, Caesar founded a Roman colony in Arles in 46 BC on which the territory of Marseilles depended. Being a new provincial Roman capital, Arles was given the name of Julia Paterna Arelate Sextanorum.

Under Augustus, the town was built on the hill with its succession of houses and buildings: fortified walls, a forum, temples, arenas, a theatre, thermal springs and a basilica.
In 306 AD, the Roman emperor Constantine chose Arles as his residence which then became Gallula Roma Arelas meaning Arles, the small Rome of Gaul.
Through the centuries, the town was exposed to all the invasions and joined the Kingdom of France in 1481 only.

Today, Arles is a town of Provencal traditions, between the Alpilles and the Camargue. It enjoys a rich and fascinating past.
And if one has to associate a name to the town, it will have to be that of Vincent Van Gogh. The painter arrived in Arles in February 1888 to paint in the very specific light you find in Provence. He moved into the famous "yellow house" where he lived for two months with Gauguin. Their relationship became strained and after a fight, Vincent cut off his left ear. After that, Van Gogh had to stay in hospital several times and on the 8th of May, he finally left Arles for the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence asylum. There, he painted more than two hundred paintings including the Arlésiennes series, the Sunflowers, harvest scenes, the Café Terrace on the Place du Forum and many more.

Among the town's Roman remains is the ancient theatre built under Augustus during the 1st century AD of which are only left a few ruins but where, every year during the month of July, a dance, music, lyric and dramatic art festival takes place.

The arenas, which are not as old, are in a good state of conservation thanks to their fortified construction which protected them from invasions. The gladiators and the beasts that used to fight in the arenas are today replaced by bulls and matadors that can be seen during the famous Arles bullfights.

In ancient times, the Alyscamps were the abode of the blessed dead. From Roman times to the Middle Ages, they were the most famous necropolis of the West.