The Travel Passport App for Families

This large Roman amphitheatre from 90 AD is still in use today.

Kid Rating:

When the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century, the people of Arles didn't abandon their amphitheatre. They moved into it. Over 200 houses, chapels, and a public square were built inside its ancient walls, turning a 20,000-seat arena into a fortified medieval town.

The amphitheatre was built in 90 AD, modeled directly on the Colosseum in Rome, which had been completed just a decade earlier.

The architect adapted the design to fit the local terrain, using a single gallery system rather than the Colosseum's double galleries, but the ambition was the same: a monument to Roman power and spectacle in the heart of southern France.

The numbers are still impressive. The arena stretches 136 meters long and 109 meters wide, with two full stories of 60 arches wrapping around the exterior. In Roman times it held over 20,000 spectators across tiered seating divided strictly by social rank.

The shows ran for four centuries. Gladiators fought each other and wild animals. Chariot races thundered around the oval floor. Condemned criminals were executed before the crowd. When the Western Empire fell, all of it stopped.

The fortress that replaced the Roman arena grew four medieval towers, three of which still stand today. By the time restoration began in the 19th century, workers cleared out centuries of structures to reveal the Roman bones underneath.

Van Gogh attended bullfights here in 1888 and later painted the scene from memory, capturing the packed crowd and swirling energy that still fills the arena today during the Feria d'Arles. The amphitheatre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Climb to the top of one of the medieval towers for a view over the city and the Provençal countryside. Walk the vaulted corridors underneath the seating. If you visit in April or September, you can watch a bullfight in the same oval where gladiators once made their entrance 2,000 years ago.