Walking in the Footsteps of Van Gogh

Related: Read the Review of Our Wine Cruise on AmaKristina

Discovering Van Gogh in Arles
(Gerry Barker photo)

By GERRY BARKER
Photos by Gerry Barker

We are in Arles, France, where our 8-day “Colors of Provence” wine cruise on the AmaKristina begins. Included in our AmaWaterways cruise are daily excursions, tailored from “:gentle,” “regular” or “active” for their guests. In many cases, our ship is parked near the heart of the Rhone River cities we’ll visit. All we have to do is grab a free container of water and step off the ship. It’s just one of the many reasons European river cruising is such a good value.

Arles (pronounced “aarlz” — I couldn’t never master the hard “r”), a coastal town in the South of France, is geographically the largest city in France — seven times the size of Paris, but with a population of only 50,000. It has a long history, dating back to 800 BC, and become a key city of the Roman Empire in 123 BC. But much of its fame today is tied to artist Vincent Van Gogh, who lived here in 1888-1889 — two of the most prolific and eventful years of his life.

READ MORE.

---