What to eat in Arles: saucisson, gardiane, Camargue rice and where to find them

Q: Is there a food tour of Arles on GetYourGuide?

Not as such. The closest is the day trip from Avignon , which includes an olive mill visit, an oil tasting and a farm picnic from April to October. Every other tour leaves meals to you.

The dishes to look for are gardiane de taureau, a bull stew served with Camargue rice; saucisson d’Arles; tellines, the tiny clams from the Camargue shore; fougasse; and the local olive oil. The Saturday market is where you buy them raw, the bistros around the Roquette and place du Forum are where you eat them cooked, and the Avignon day trip is the one tour that actually feeds you.

Signature dishGardiane de taureau

With itRiz de Camargue (IGP)

CharcuterieSaucisson d’Arles

From the shoreTellines

BreadFougasse

Tasting tourOlive mill + picnic, Apr–Oct

The dishes

Gardiane is the one to order: bull meat from the manades, stewed slowly and served over Camargue rice, which has its own IGP label. In July I would rather have tellines, cooked in seconds and eaten with your fingers. Saucisson d’Arles is a beef-and-pork dry sausage that keeps in a rucksack. Fougasse comes from every bakery. The olive oil is pressed a half-hour away around Les Baux and Saint-Rémy.

Where the market fits

Saturday, boulevard des Lices, 8:00 to 12:45: the charcutiers, the rice, the oil and the clams are all there, and the tourist office in the middle of it sells monument tickets, so one trip does both jobs. On Wednesday the smaller market on boulevard Émile Combes is just below the amphitheatre.

The tour that includes a meal

None of the tours through Arles is a food tour, and the walks and day trips leave lunch to you. The exception is the Avignon day with Arnaud, which from April to October visits the Moulin Castelas olive mill for an oil tasting, then lays out a picnic under fig trees: eggs, black-olive and pepper tapenade, fresh goat cheese and seasonal fruit from local farms. Sean from Canada sampled several AOP oils and said the picnic was prepared by Arnaud’s parents; Lou from the United States wanted more choice, and the operator answered that it is a picnic, not a food tour. Both are fair. Outside those months the mill and picnic drop out.

Insider tip

Buy the saucisson and the rice on Saturday morning and carry them; eat the tellines the same day. The market page has the hours for both markets.

Olive oil, picnic and the Carrières

The only Arles tour with food included; mill visit and picnic run April to October.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the traditional dish of Arles?

Gardiane de taureau, bull meat stewed in red wine with olives and served over Camargue rice. Saucisson d’Arles is the local charcuterie. Buy both at the Saturday market on boulevard des Lices.

Is there a food tour of Arles on GetYourGuide?

Not as such. The closest is the day trip from Avignon, which includes an olive mill visit, an oil tasting and a farm picnic from April to October. Every other tour leaves meals to you.

What is riz de Camargue?

Rice grown in the Camargue delta south of Arles, protected by an IGP label, and the standard side for gardiane. The delta is why the commune of Arles is the largest in metropolitan France by area; more on what makes Arles worth the trip.