In the footsteps of Van Gogh

SOMETHING about the light in Arles makes the city special. Whether it's the morning sun bouncing off the rooftops on ancient cobblestone streets, golden fields of sunflowers blooming in early summer or moonlight reflecting off the surface of the Rhone River at night, the effect is simply mesmerising.

For centuries, famous visitors and lesser mortals have been drawn to this walled Roman town of 50,000 in southern France, about a half-hour drive from Avignon and equidistant between Spain and Italy. Julius Caesar rewarded its citizens for their loyalty by building several monuments, including a triumphal arch and a 10,000-seat theatre. Further evidence of its preferred status arrived about a hundred years later in the form of an even more impressive 20,000-seat arena. By the 4th century AD, it had become a favourite stop for Emperor Constantine I.

Arles remained a vibrant trading post through the Middle Ages but in more recent times, it has been closely associated with the post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh - who knew a thing or two about the importance of good light. During his 15-month stay between February 1888 and May 1889, Van Gogh produced about 300 works of art, including drawings and many of his most famous paintings.