On another daytrip from St. Remy, we set out for a short drive to Arles, a cisty southwest of Avignon along the Rhône. It is an ancient city, established before Roman times, and with a number of Roman ruins within and nearby. We visited two of these, the Theatre Antique, built at the end of the 1st century BC, and the Arena, or Amphitheatre, built in 90 AD. It was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators for chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Today, it draws large crowds for bull fighting, plays and concerts in the summer. The Baths of Constantine dates from the 4th century AD. The city also has the Cathedral of St. Trophime built between the 12th and 15th centuries, and the adjacent Cloister built in the 12th century. We also visted the Reattu Museum, with works of Jacques Reattu and many others including Picasso, housed in a 15th century building.
