Arles Amphitheatre — Attraction in Arles

The Amphitheater of Arles: A Roman Treasure Full of Life

Visiting the Amphitheater of Arles is like stepping straight into the heart of Roman history. This monumental arena, built around 90 AD, is one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world — and it’s absolutely breathtaking. You can almost hear the echoes of roaring crowds and the clash of gladiators as you walk through its ancient stone corridors.

Originally designed to hold over 20,000 spectators, the amphitheater was a center of entertainment for the citizens of Roman Arles, hosting gladiatorial combats, chariot races, and public spectacles. Its architecture is brilliantly functional: a complex system of staircases, arches, and corridors allowed thousands of people to move quickly and efficiently — a masterpiece of Roman engineering!

What makes the Arles Amphitheater even more fascinating is its second life. In the Middle Ages, when the Roman Empire had long fallen, the arena was transformed into a fortified village! More than 200 houses and even two chapels were built inside it. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the houses were cleared out and the amphitheater was restored to resemble its ancient glory.

Fun fact: Today, the amphitheater is not just a historic monument; it’s still alive! It regularly hosts events like bull races (courses camarguaises) and concerts, blending ancient history with vibrant modern traditions. Sitting on its ancient stone steps, you can watch a show just like the Romans did 2,000 years ago — truly a magical experience!

In short, the Arles Amphitheater is more than a ruin — it’s a living, breathing link between past and present. Whether you’re a history lover, a culture enthusiast, or simply someone who loves epic places, visiting this arena will leave you amazed. It’s a place where time stands still, and every stone...

We went specifically on August 14 when we knew they had a unique bull fighting event where the gardiens (cowboys) would be removing these white yarn flowers from the bulls horn. They get rewarded money for touching the bulls horns and more if they get the flowers.

I could never watch traditional bull fighting because of how they treat the bull so I thought this is a unique opportunity to watch a bull fight with no harm to the bull.

But we warned they use sharp things on their fingers to cut “flower” off and when a bull misbehaves they use a little trident on it.

Each session with a bull is only 10mins long but can feel like forever if you are a sympathetic animal lover.

The first set was 30mins with 3 different bulls. There was an intermission the. Another set of 3 bulls (2 were repeats) for the 2nd set.

Some bulls definitely did not want to be there and kept trying to go back to where it came from.

The arena itself was a beautiful open Roman Amphitheatre with wooden seats. I don’t recommend wearing shorts because the seats can give you welts. A must if you...

If you’re going to the amphitheatre theatre in Arles then I imagine you’re going to go to the theatre as well. So: if you don’t know already, for €11 you can buy a ticket which gets you into both. Good value.

As for the amphitheatre, worth seeing. It’s still used, for bullfighting (French style, so not so bad) and modern searing ( scaffolding style) extends beyond (what’s left of) the original Roman stone seating. Actually that’s not a bad thing, because you can access both, and the modern seating gives you a good feel for how the area might have been.

Other points of interest: there’s a tower (added post-Roman when the area was used more like a castle) which has a good view; and the structure is a proper warren, much of which you can explore, which is fun.

Practical note: we rocked up in Arles assuming that there would be big signs everywhere saying “Roman Stuff This Way!”, but it’s really not like that at all. It takes a...