Arles Amphitheatre

The Arles Amphitheatre (Arènes d’Arles) is one of the most impressive historical sites in southern France and an absolute must-visit when exploring the city. Built around 90 AD during the Roman Empire, this grand arena once hosted gladiator battles and large public spectacles, accommodating more than 20,000 spectators. Despite its age, the structure remains remarkably well-preserved and gives you a vivid glimpse into the scale and engineering brilliance of ancient Rome. Walking through the arches and corridors feels like stepping back in time, but the real highlight is the panoramic view from the top of the tower. I highly recommend climbing up , but once you reach the top, you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular 360-degree view of Arles’ rooftops, the Rhône River, and the surrounding Provençal landscape. It’s the best place to appreciate both the amphitheatre’s architecture and the beauty of the old town. Overall, this is a fantastic historical site worth every minute of your visit. Whether you love Roman history, photography, or simply exploring unique landmarks, the Arles Amphitheatre is a destination you won’t want to miss.

Awesome amphitheatre to explore, it is huge! You can climb all the way to the top and have great views all around. It might take a bit of searching to find the right passages to get up to the top!

Impressive Roman Amphitheater built around 90 CE when the Flavian dynasty ruled in Rome and Domitian was emperor. Not surprisingly the arena was modelled after the Flavian Amphitheater aka Colloseum in Rome. It could hold 20.000 spectators who would watch brutal gladiator games and fights with wild animals. When the western Roman empire had collapsed in the 5th century CE it became a fortess with four towers of which two survived. In medieval times there were even 200 houses, squares and chapels built inside making it a town within a town Like with other arenas large steel structures are built inside with seating for spectators taking away most of the original atmosphere.

Stayed at the local campsite. Very cheap to get into the city. The day we went all the museums were free. The amphitheatre and collusseum were worth the price alone. Beautiful and so easy to access.

Very cool site! Incredible scale. Check the schedule, they have events. We were able to see a gladiator show!

This is in the heart of Arles and it is 100% worth a stop because it is simply so stunning and absolutely huge inside. Whilst we were visiting there was a performance with gladiators and that was entertaining. The views at the top are stunning and so pretty as you can see across the town. It was a very clear day so we got plenty of photos!

I was fortunate to attend Arles Rice Festival in mid- September and celebrated the Camargue rice harvest. I saw the traditional Provençal bullfight, course camarguaise in the Arles Amphitheatre. It's not Spanish Bullfight so no bulls were killed. The Arles Amphitheatre was fascinating and there are many events in the summer time so you can experience the Arles Amphitheatre.

We were in Arles for a photography festival. The festival was pretty diverse in themes, thus might interest a large number of people. The added bonus is that we were able to see spots as festival locations we would miss if we were to stick to main tourist attractions. Arles is a very old Roman city worth visiting.