Discover Arles through its different districts
From the Roquette district, which has a village feel and is full of churches and mansions, to the Hauture district, location of the early Christian basilica, and stronghold of the royalists during the Revolution, discover the different districts of Arles .
The Roquette district
Appearing in the Middle Ages and long a favorite district of sailors, the Roquette district remains one of the most picturesque in the city.
Its original fishbone urban framework,
full of picturesque narrow and often tall houses, between the Quai du Rhône and Boulevard Clémenceau
The facades, rich in architectural decorations, and the numerous niches adorning the street corners, attract the eye and encourage strolling.
The district was also bustling with numerous craftsmen and traders, and inhabited by some large families who left beautiful private mansions there.
The Hauture district
The Hauture district constitutes the highest part of the city (25 meters above sea level), the only rocky eminence within the surrounding alluvial plain.
He was a support
major part of the urbanization of the Roman colony, the current district of which retains monumental traces, including an amphitheater, theater and rampart.
Furthermore, in 2003, the remains of the first episcopal group were unearthed at the southeast corner of the district.
Later, its population of small farmers, shepherds and artisans, marked its picturesque appearance made up of small, simple houses and narrow, winding streets, some still paved.
Its heritage interest, the richness of its past, as well as its amenities make it a very popular area for visitors.
Les Mouleyrès
The Mouleyrès district is the first suburb, in the modern sense, of the urban development of Arles.
It was born from rapid population growth in the 19th century, during the
industrial Revolution.
More precisely, it was the arrival of the railway, and the construction of the railway workshops, which profoundly transformed the appearance of what was then only a rural hill, formerly covered with windmills, hence her name.
A popular and friendly neighborhood, initially with a high density of railway workers, with a resolutely revolutionary toponymy (desired by a municipality elected in 1900), Mouleyrès has today preserved its picturesque and random urban planning.
Le Méjan
The Méjan (“middle”) district occupies a modest area between that of La Cité and that of La Roquette, on the banks of the Rhône.
Its history dates back to the medieval renaissance of the city, around the 12th century.
It has an exceptional monument, the Dominican Church, the largest Gothic building in the city.
The Méjan district owes its particular identity to its historical role as an intermediate zone.
In fact, this passage zone will often be contested with weapons in hand.
It was in Méjan, at that time a Jewish quarter, that the Dominican convent was established in the 14th century. Their vast church is still visible there.
La Cité
Le quartier de la Cité est le cœur de la ville d’Arles et son centre politique et religieux depuis l’Antiquité.
Cette dénomination, d’origine médiévale, est rarement utilisée. On le désigne le plus souvent en référence à l’un de ses édifices les plus connus : l’hôtel de ville.
Il suit les axes urbains majeurs de l’ancienne cité romaine, qui, de l’Hauture au Rhône, fut aussi celui de l’expansion initiale de la ville et de l’installation des pouvoirs politiques et religieux.
C’est un quartier qui se distingue aujourd’hui par la richesse architecturale de son bâti, son animation culturelle, sociale et commerciale.
A ces divers titres il est aussi prisé des Arlésiens que des visiteurs.
Comme l’ensemble du centre ville, il fait partie du secteur sauvegardé.
