Click here to book a hotel in Arles. Even the building is imposing. Built in by the architect Henri Ciriani, it looks sleek and ultra-modern from the outside. Inside, by contrast, it's the past that comes alive. Although the museum looks like a dark sealed unit viewed from the front, the exhibition spaces are spacious, airy, luminous and accessibly presented. It's one of only 20 museums in the whole of France to hold this honour. This is an essential destination for anyone hot on the trail of the Romans in Provence.
But you don't need to be a passionate history buff to enjoy it. Whatever your age, you could easily spend at least half a day here. Budget at least an extra half day to visit the amphitheatre and the city's other big Roman sites: click here to read about them. One of the museum's star exhibits was found in just on the other side of the river. Pictured top left , it's an imposing bust, probably of an ageing Julius Caesar: if this is indeed him it's still disputed , it would be the only known portrait actually sculpted during his lifetime.
This enormous vessel was once used to transport limestone. It sank under the weight of its cargo and was buried in silt - a stroke of fortune which helped to preserve it. In fact it's the best preserved ship of its kind in the world. A new wing of the museum was built specially to accommodate it.
Computer graphics recreate how it must have looked as a working barge towed by slaves in the first century AD. And each summer a team of diver-archaeologists plunges into the river itself to see what they can see. Major new finds are announced regularly. Another very large area is given over to marvellously restored Roman mosaics: a raised platform, pictured , lets you get a good view of them from above. There are ramps up to this platform and the whole museum is wheelchair-accessible.
Watch out too for large statues of Augustus Caesar and Neptune, the god of the sea, as well as a vivid bronze of a Roman prisoner of war and a beautiful Venus with a dimpled bottom! Detailled scale models of Arles reveal how the city once looked in ancient times. The Romans dominate the collection, inevitably. The Greeks and early Christians are represented too. The museum is well set up for children you'll see armies of excited school kids here during term time.
