To this day, Arles’ streets are lined with cafés and restaurants, where guests dine under a starry sky.
Image: Klaus Simon
Who needs Paris when you can live in Arles: the small town in Provence is attracting more and more artists. The new mayor supports them.
Ahen the French weekly magazine “Le Point” published a series about France’s most attractive places this summer, the rising star Arles couldn’t be left out. And neither did the Parlésiens, meaning those Parisiens who, as converted Arlésiens, turned their backs on the French capital. They are now trying their luck under the sun of Provence. In the largest municipality in the country in terms of area – almost the entire Camargue belongs to Arles with its just 52,000 inhabitants and thus an area that is seven times larger than the urban area of Paris – the newcomers provide just as much wind as the city regularly churning mistral. In the French media anyway.
A few well-known names, more from the second row, are doing the rounds and fueling the hype again this year. The singer Sinclair left the Marais in Paris to move to Arles. Actor Patrick Chesnais has also just bought a house in Arles. Director Laetitia Masson feels inspired by the city, rich in ancient monuments, Romanesque churches, baroque palaces and the endless expanse of the Camargue.