In the Footsteps of Van Gogh from Avignon review: the five-hour half-day
My verdict: the tour to book if Van Gogh is the reason you are in Provence. Five hours from the Avignon tourist office in a minibus of eight, a guided walk of an hour and a half through the places he painted in Arles, then an hour at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy with the entry included, which no other tour on this site does. It rates 4.6 from 118 reviews, the largest review count of the six, and the reviews are about the guides more than anything else. It is not an Arles monuments tour: the amphitheatre is not on the route and its ticket is not included.
What the half-day is like
About an hour in the van from Avignon to Arles, then the walk. It goes past the site of the Yellow House on place Lamartine, which was destroyed in 1944 and is a gap with a plaque; the café on place du Forum that he painted as “Café Terrace at Night”; and the hospital garden that is now the Espace Van Gogh, where he was treated after 23 December 1888. He arrived in Arles on 20 February 1888 and left for Saint-Rémy on 8 May 1889, and in those fourteen months made more than 300 paintings and drawings. Ines from Germany says her guide Jo tied all of that to Roman Arles as they walked, which is how the town makes sense.
Then 45 minutes in the van to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, the asylum outside Saint-Rémy where he spent the following year, set in olive groves. You get an hour there and the entry is in the booking. Samantha from the United Kingdom took an early departure and had Van Gogh’s room to herself before the crowd, which is the best argument for the first slot of the day. Then 45 minutes back to Avignon. The listing says the order may change, and it involves walking; Saturday departures pass through the Arles market.
What works
- A guided walk in Arles, not free time: Wendy from the United Kingdom praises the depth of Jos’s knowledge, John from Australia calls Emile comprehensive and well organised
- Saint-Paul-de-Mausole entry included, which no other tour here offers
- Transport sub-score 4.9: Marja from the Netherlands says Arnaud drove well and the day was perfectly organised
- Five hours, so it leaves the afternoon or the morning free in Avignon
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Worth knowing
- The lowest headline rating of the three Avignon-area tours at 4.6, though from the largest sample
- The amphitheatre and the theatre are not on the route; this is a painter’s walk, not a Roman one
- The order can change on the day
- Walking on uneven streets; not for under-4s or for people with mobility impairments
- Value sub-score 4.5, which is where the four-star reviews sit
What reviewers say
This is a tour reviewed by guide name. Martina from the United States writes about Odelia’s contagious passion. Sibylle from Australia had Emile, as did John; Gowoon from South Korea had Gislain; Vivienne from Australia had Jeremy; Lynn from the United States mentions Joanna’s perfect English. Wendy found Jos amusing as well as thorough. When a hundred-odd reviews name the guide, it usually means the guide is the product, and here that is the case: the van ride is short and the sites themselves are a plaque, a café terrace and a garden until someone explains them.
The four-star reviews are quieter. Nobody complains about the guides. The reservation, where there is one, is about how much of the five hours is driving, which is about two and a half, and about the value score. I think five hours for a guided walk and an included entry is fair, but if you want to spend the day inside Roman Arles this is the wrong tour, and what to see in Arles lists what it does not cover.
Take the earliest departure you can. Samantha’s empty room at Saint-Paul is the prize, and an early walk in Arles means the place du Forum before the café terraces fill. If your date is a Saturday, the walk crosses the market, which is either the best or the most crowded thing that can happen to it depending on your temperament.
Who should book it, and who should not
Book it if you are staying in Avignon, want the Van Gogh story told properly, and want Saint-Paul-de-Mausole without organising it yourself. Skip it if what you want is the amphitheatre and the theatre: take the train from Avignon-Centre, which is under twenty minutes, buy a ticket at the door and join the express walk for the Roman side. The three day trips on day trips via Arles pass the same Van Gogh places without the guided walk, so if you want the villages as well as the painter, read those first. The Van Gogh tour page has the longer version of what this half-day covers.
Other tours to consider
Arnaud’s Avignon day walks past the Van Gogh café and the Espace Van Gogh on its way round the Roman sites. The Marseille day treats Saint-Paul-de-Mausole as optional. The private walk in Arles can be steered towards Van Gogh if you ask.
With picnicFrom Avignon: Arles, Les Baux de Provence & St Rémy
From MarseilleFrom Marseille: Arles, Les Baux & Saint-Rémy Full-Day Tour
PrivateArles: Private Guide Tour – Explore History & Culture
Frequently asked questions
Does the Van Gogh tour go inside the Arles amphitheatre?
No. The walk in Arles follows the places Van Gogh painted: the Yellow House site, the café on place du Forum and the Espace Van Gogh. The amphitheatre is a separate visit with its own ticket, which you can do before or after the tour if you are in Arles on another day; see tickets.
Is Saint-Paul-de-Mausole entry really included?
Yes. It is one of only two included entries across the six tours reviewed here; the other is the Carrières de Lumières on Arnaud’s Avignon day. You get about an hour at the asylum, in the olive groves outside Saint-Rémy, and an early departure can mean you have Van Gogh’s room to yourself, as Samantha from the United Kingdom did.
How much walking is there?
An hour and a half on foot in Arles, on old streets, plus the grounds at Saint-Paul. The listing excludes people with mobility impairments and children under four, and the order of the stops can change. For the walk in Arles alone, without the van, the walking tours page compares the two in-town options.