Arles is a UNESCO site and a must-see town in the southeastern Provence. It is filled to the brim with Roman treasures, fantastic art, and colourful pastel houses. The town is fast and is becoming a cultural centre.
All around the French town of Arles, the hot summer is filled with withering fields of sunflowers. By the end of September, these sunflowers are usually dry enough to be harvested for their seeds and crushed to make sunflower oil.
But in the ancient town itself, another sunflower crop is thriving. There are vivid yellow flowers on tablecloths and oven gloves, t-shirts and postcards.
Given its long human history, it is quite fascinating that this beautiful town on the banks of the Rhone River in Provence is defined by a Dutch painter who came here in 1888, and stayed for just 15 months, as they were considered mentally unwell and rather avoided by locals.
