The Roman Empire in Southern France

[Pauline]

In the last few years we have been traveling to different spots in southern France. I am fascinated by the remains of the Roman Empire in the area.

One of the main Roman roads, the Via Domitia started near the border with Spain, going along the coast, to Italy. There are many Roman sites along the route. I have notes and photos on a few that we have seen.

St Thibery Roman Bridge, the remains of a small bridge near Beziers. Photo Gallery - St Thibery

Loupian Roman Villa, the remains of a large villa with some of the mosaic flooring, near Beziers. Photo Gallery - Loupian Roman Villa.

Ambrussum (also called Oppidum of Abrussum) was a Roman staging post and settlement along the Via Domitia, south of Nimes. No new town was built in this location, so you can see it as it was. Photo Gallery - Ambrussum

Glanum, the remains of a Roman town near Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Photo Gallery - Glanum.

Pont Julien, a lovely small bridge in the Luberon, near Apt. Photo Gallery - Pont Julien.

There are many other remains along the Via Domitia. It also passed through Nimes. One of my favorite sites was hard to find. Mileage markers on a piece of the road near Beaucaire. I am putting together my photos and information, but here is one of them.

 

[Dana]

It is indeed fascinating. And if you're in the area, don't miss the fascinating Musée d'Arles antique—now boasting a Roman barge they found in the muddy bottom of the Rhône: http://www.arles-antique.cg13.fr/mdaa_cg13/root/index.htm

 

[Roz]

Did you go to Nimes, Pauline? The amphitheatre there and the Pont du Gard are, I think, the most impressive Roman ruins in France.

Do you know the book by Ina Caro, The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France ? It is one of my all-time favorites. Since it's arranged chronologically by major periods in French history, it starts with the Romans in Provence.

 

[Kathy]

Pauline, the next time you're in that part of Provence, I think you'd be interested in visited the ruined aqueduct at Barbegal. (I heard about this from Americana/Nancy.) It's near Fontevielle. It's not a tourist spot... you kind of have to know about it.

You park on the side of a small road and the ruins are on either side, a double aqueduct that took water from Les Alpilles to Arles, now in the middle of fields of olive trees. You can follow the ruins along to where one channel was diverted toward Arles and the other drove a series of mills that cascaded down a hillside. There are beautiful views off the hillside.

 

[Marnie de Vanssay]

One of my favorite régions of France. Ina Caro's book "The road from the past" is an excellent read prior this trip. One small piece of advice, however. The big cities, Nimes, Arles, Avignon and especially Marseille, have become very dangerous, so use a guide, watch handbags and always park your car in a watched garage.

 

[JeriF.]

I loved Caro's book and reread it before every trip. As for ruins, let's not forget possibly the best--Orange, with its triumphal arch and stunning theater, and the impressive ruins in Vaison.

 

[Marnie de Vanssay]

You are right about Orange. And let's not forget, nearby, the Gigondas wine, the ChateauNeuf du Pape too. And stay at Château de Rochegude

 

[Pauline]

Pauline, the next time you're in that part of Provence, I think you'd be interested in visited the ruined aqueduct at Barbegal. (I heard about this from Americana/Nancy.) It's near Fontevielle. It's not a tourist spot... you kind of have to know about it.

I think this is the place Chris told me about and we were going to visit on our last trip but ended up going to Arles for lunch instead. We will see it next time.

 

[Pauline]

As for ruins, let's not forget possibly the best--Orange, with its triumphal arch and stunning theater, and the impressive ruins in Vaison.

We didn't make it to Orange and we did two trips to this area last year! Next time for sure.

We spent a week in Nimes and it did not feel unsafe, but we were there in March so it was off-season. Arles felt a little iffy in some neighborhoods, but mostly it was just that I would not want to stay in them. Again, that was in March.

Marseilles - I've seen the French Connection!!

 

[Dana]

But from my experience, even Marseille is absolutely safe. In fact it recently had a big tidy up as last year's European capital of culture, and boasts a spectacular new waterfront National Museum of European and Mediterranean culture among much else. I actually like Marseille better than Paris—it has a salty sparkle and spontaneity and joie de vivre that's become a bit hard to find in Paris. And a much nicer climate. And the cheap restaurants are much better. Of course as in any French city (especially Paris!) there are dodgy suburbs that aren't very nice after dark.

 

[Ann]

Dana, we have to spend the night at the Marseille airport in October (after stays in Apt and Sablet), and I thought we'd get there early and take the airport bus into Marseille. We'd have all afternoon and evening -- any tips? Thanks and aloha from rainy Hawaii.

 

[Dana]

Hi Ann, and bonsoir from rainy France! Well, I'd say have a wander around around the Vieux Port, and maybe soak up some of the colourful multi ethnic atmosphere at the Marché des Capuchins which is a few minutes away, just up the Canebière, the main street that descends to the Vieux Port. If you love strange old churches, don't miss the Abbaye Saint-Victor (also on the Vieux Port) and/or check out the new Mediterranean museum (on the other side of the Vieux Port, by the old quarter of the Panier, which is pretty interesting in itself). If you're a keen Count of Montecristo fan, you can take the little boat out to the Château d'If, which is fun on a sunny afternoon. There are up-to-date restaurant tips here: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/20/top-10-restaurants-marseille-france. If money's no object, it has to be L'Epuisette for heavenly seafood and the enchanting views.

 

[Parigi]

The Roman villa in Loupian is astounding. The farm, on whose grounds the villa with the exquisite mosaics were found, had originally not want the authorities to know, as it would have meant much bureaucracy and possibly loss of income. He continued to plow the fields OVER the villa. Today one can see the tracks of the trackter across the villa !

Glanum, besides being a fantastic site, is also adjacent, like sharing-the-same-parking-lot-adjacent, - to the sanatorium where Van Gogh had stayed during that crucial year of his life when he was at his most prolific. His "cellule" as well as the view from his little window, which means the lavender field and the orange grove painted so many times by him, - has been preserved as was. It is one of the most moving artistic sites in France. I recommend to everyone.

Lastly, indeed Barbegal with its cascading Roman mills is breathtaking. And hardly anyone ever visits it. You can have a picnic there by yourselves, or, better, have an excellent farm-to-table lunch in the very nearby Ferme-auberge de Barbegal. Once my friends and I cleaned up the tureen of pistou soup so well, - I think we licked the tureen, - that I am sure the kitchen did not have to wash it. We love archeology and love this stuff.

Arles is an excellently preserved Roman town, and so is Nîmes. We prefer Arles for its nearness to St Rémy and its excellent market and the rich concentration of good eateries, from the traiteur Génin to the starred temples like Le Cilantro and Rabanel.

 

[Parigi]

When I originallyl wrote the reply above, I had put several paragraph separations. I hate hate hate one lump parag. Who would want to read that.Guess what. All the paragraph disappeared when the message was printed.So I used the edit function to put in the various paragraph seperations one more time.Guess what. They disappeared again.I am very sorry you have to read this torture form of my message. I don't know what to do.

 

[Pauline]

I fixed it. I think things got messed up because of the code that included part of my earlier message. If you click that little wrench icon, in the upper right of the input box, it puts you into code mode - so you can see if some tags are messed up.

If anyone has any problem with a post, click that REPORT link and I get a message.

Ah, websites - something always goes screwy (that is my professional opinion).

Great info - thanks!!

 

[Chris]

Ah, websites - something always goes screwy (that is my professional opinion).

Very true!

I completely agree about Van Gogh's last home. I'd been in the area many times before I decided to stop there, and was surprised at how moving it was.

 

[Pauline]

We visited Van Gogh's home (for the first time) and then Glanum (for the second time) last October. Both are very interesting. It is a beautiful area. On the next trip I will make sure we see Barbegal.

 

[Dana]

I noticed no one mentioned one of our favourites: good old but often overlooked Narbonne, once the capital of Roman Gallia Narbonensis (ie. most of the modern region of Languedoc-Roussillon). There's an exposed tranche of the Via Domitia right in the main square, in front of the towering archbishop's palace, a Horreum (underground storage area), the archaeology museum with some of the few surviving Roman paintings in France, and a very atmospheric Musée Lapidaire in a Gothic church, full of old Roman stones (http://www.narbonne-tourisme.com/organiser/a-voir-a-faire/118609-musee-lapidaire). There's also a superb market, the most bizarre Gothic cathedral you've ever seen, and a huge sandy beach 15 minutes away. And it's only an hour from Carcassonne.

 

[Ann]

And not much more than an hour to Collioure!

 

[Pauline]

I found an interesting website with info about the Via Domitia written by a German who traveled as much of it as he could find in 2005.

I would like to see that bit of the Via Domitia in Narbonne. And the museum.