Rencontres Photo Fest Opens Tomorrow in Arles

The 57th Rencontres d'Arles, the international photography festival, begins tomorrow July 6 and runs through October 4, 2026.

As in year’s past, the festival will present a wide array of exhibits, screenings, talks and projections in venues across Arles and beyond.

Some exhibits will remain on view until the end of the festival while others have limited runs.

One of this year's main themes is Des Mondes à Relire ("Worlds to Reread"), featuring exhibits and events that look at Africa through ‘’liberation, visual culture and contemporary reinterpretation.’’ Ghana! Rêver l'Indépendance, for example, explores how photography helped forge a new national identity after the country gained independence.

Another strong thematic thread this year is the living world, from animals and plants to geology and organic matter. One exhibit on photographers and animals brings together major international talents such as Lucien Clergue, Martin Parr, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, and Sebastião Salgado.

In general, photo shows are open from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (July 6 to August 30), and from 9:30 am to 7 pm (August 31 to October 4). However, certain sites have specific hours so be sure the check the schedule. The last entry to most exhibits is 15 minutes before closing.

As in years past, the festive opening week of the Rencontres (July 6 to 12), offers a wide range of special events such as screenings and projections, guided tours, talks and evening programs; this year there are 115 open-to-the-public events during opening week. Many of the featured photographers will be in town.

For example on Tuesday, July 7 from 9:45 p.m. to midnight in the Ancient Theatre (1 Rue du Cloître), French musician, composer and filmmaker Chassol (full name Christophe Chassol) will present an original program immersing the audience in the early days of photography. Blending music, sound, and images, Chassol he’ll ‘’explore the major milestones of this visual revolution: early photographic processes, the art of portraiture, explorations of the world, nascent modernity, capturing movement, and the beginnings of cinema.’’

Chassol is best known for his concept of "ultrascore" — a technique he developed in which he takes filmed footage of real life (conversations, street scenes, nature sounds, cultural events, etc.) and harmonizes and musicalizes the natural rhythms and melodies already present in the sounds and speech. Classically trained, his work is deeply rooted in jazz, funk and Caribbean music — his family is from Martinique.

The same evening, Edward Steichen's great-granddaughter Ariana Stahmer will share an intimate account of the renowned photographer, revealing the profound connections between his work, his passion for gardens, and the women who shaped his life.

Rounding out the Tuesday evening program, Canadian artist Stan Douglas will explore ‘’questions of collective memory, powers and resistance’’ through films, photos and installations, often in dialogue with music…and the presentation of the Best Photo Books of the Year Awards. Evening programs are generally presented in French but translations are sometimes offered.

The popular annual event called The Night of Year happens on Saturday July 11, on the industrial site of the former Papeteries Étienne, which is exceptionally open to the public for this event. The work of 40 photographers will be projected continuously on large screens along with live music, DJ sets, food trucks and bars.

Altogether there are 47 Rencontres exhibits this year including 11 ''Arles Associé'' exhibitions (plus 12 ''Grand Arles Express'' exhibits, spanning an area from Mougins to Montpellier via Marseille, Aix and Nîmes.) Some 400 artists are participating, showing 4,000-plus works in more than 28 different venues...plus all the places where opening-week events will happen.

You’ll find all the 2026 Rencontres info in French and in English on the festival site here and you can follow them on IG here. 

To plan your visit, a good place to start is here.

For all the activities during opening week click here.

For info on all the evening programs in English, I found this page very helpful.

There’s a detailed English-language overview of the 2026 program here.

And for a copy of the full press kit in English, click here!

Finally, if you’d like to experience the Rencontres but find it all a bit overwhelming, a couple of my favorite tour guides have once again offered to be Rencontres sherpas! They can help you plan your visit, purchase tickets, accompany you in Arles, book a great restaurant for lunch or dinner and possibly provide transportation to and from Arles as well. For more info on that: WhatToDoinProvence@gmail.com.

Photos: (1) The 2026 Rencontres poster features a photo by Carlos Idun-Tawiah called ''Many Reasons to Live Again.'' (2) Photo by Lisa Oppenheim. (3) Photo by James Barnor from the show Ghana! Dreaming Independence. (4) Photo by Park Chan-Wook. (5) Photo by Jean-Baptiste Huynh. (6) Photo by Ayana Jackson, from her Rencontres show at the Abbaye de Montmajour outside Arles. (7) ''Wings of the Hawk, 42nd Street'' photo by William Klein. (8) Sunflower #13 by Edward Steichen, with printer's color separation guide and gray scale. (9) Photo by Park Chan-Wook. (10) Photo by Harry Gruyaert.

Journées du Patrimoine is Sept 21 & 22

It's that time again: The 41^st annual Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, in cities and villages all over France. The program was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe; this year 50 countries will take part.

Officially it's called European Heritage Days or JEP, (for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine) but everyone just calls it Patrimoine.

Roughly 20,000 sites or so across France are expected to participate. This is one the biggest events in the country and one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that a wide range of monuments, religious sites, estates, gardens, museums, workshops, galleries, ateliers, factories and more are open for special visits, including many that are normally closed to the public. Most sites are offering free entry and will have a guide on hand; some host special tours and events (mostly in French). Some of these events may require you to sign up in advance, for others you just show up. Some villages will have events on Friday Sept 20 as well. 

Every year, Patrimoine has a loose theme but this year there are two that overlap. The first is  "Heritage, Routes and Connections" which pertains to planes, trains, cars and boats...but also roads, paths and other routes used for spiritual or commercial purposes. The second is Maritime Heritage, including seaside architecture, shipbuilding, aquaculture and more.

Ok, allons-y! What to see and do?

The main Journées du Patrimoine website is here and the department-by-department listings are here. But keep checking back because details continue to roll in as Patrimoine weekend draws closer. Local tourist offices will have Patrimoine info on their own websites and over the years I've found that their info tends to be more comprehensive and up-to-date than the nationwide Patrimoine website.

Every year, my village (St. Remy) publishes its own terrific map/guide to all its Patrimoine sites and activities. You can see the 2024 version in PDF form here. Or, grab a hard copy at the St. Remy Tourist Office.

And here are the programs for Avignon, Aix en Provence, Arles, Marseille, Nimes and Nice. The large Luberon region is here. But don't forget about our hundreds of smaller villages which sometimes offer fantastic tours and visits as well.  

Then there are listings for the six departments of PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur): Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone, the Hautes-Alpes and the Var. For the Vaucluse, try here and here. And here's the Gard (which is not technically in Provence but never mind…we love the Gard anyway!). 

Up in Paris, there are more than 1,500 sites participating this year. See a great listing of events and some highlights here.

Throughout the weekend, some activities will happen at specific times, on one day of the weekend on both. (You can expect tours to be in French but a translator is sometimes provided or the guide may speak some English or someone in the group might offer to translate.) For example:

*In St. Remy, enjoy a 1.5 hour guided tour of the old village at 9:30 am on Saturday (to reserve: +33 4 90 92 05 22, meet at the Tourist Office). Or, join a guided “discovery” of the Canal des Alpines on Sunday starting at 2:30. The canal hike is an easy, flat 6 km and includes a visit to the Domaine de Lagoy (rendezvous in the parking of the College Glanum).

Also in St. Remy, the architectural site of Glanum is offering free entry all weekend with guided tours (no registration needed) on both days at 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm. See all the Patrimoine activities at Glanum here.

The Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy, created in the 15^th century and normally closed to the public, will be open Saturday from 10 to noon and Sunday from 10:30 to noon and from 3 to 4 pm, with guided visits available both days.

*In Nimes, go behind the scenes of the Arènes (the Roman amphitheater), and visit the areas usually not open to the general public (including where the bulls are kept before bullfights and bull games), the chapel where the matadors pray before entering the ring, and more. Or climb the scaffolding on the façade of St Castor cathedral for a once-in-a-lifetime close-up glimpse of  the medieval frieze depicting the Old Testament, which is currently being painstakingly restored by stonemasons and restorers. Also in Nimes, there's a free organ concert on Saturday from 2:30 to 3 pm, at the United Protestant Church, built between 1714 and 1736…on an organ built in Avignon in 1814.

*In Marseille on Friday night at 7 pm, take a special nighttime double-decker bus tour of the city (10€) and see the famous Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica, which will be exceptionally open this evening. (For info and to book, click here.)  

Or, take the "Marseille Liberated" Tour on Saturday at 3 pm and retrace the journey of the fighters who liberated the Garde Hill and the sanctuary on August 25, 1944...10 days after the Allied forces landed in Provence (book here).

Or, sign on for free guided tour of Marseille's Vieux Port on Saturday or Sunday, from 10 am to noon or 2 pm to 4 pm. Reservations are required; call +33 8 26 50 05 00 or marseilleexperience.com. 

Or take a tour and sketching workshop at the port L'Estaque quarter of Marseille (info here).

*In Aix, there's a free guided tour of the 14th-century Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), on Saturday or Sunday at 10 am, 10:45, 11:30, 2 pm, 2:45 or 3:30. Or, if more modern architecture is your thing, take a backstage tour of the music hall called 6MIC on Friday (5 pm to 6:30) or Saturday (10 am to 11:30). To sign up: billetterie@6mic-aix.fr

*In Arles, the LUMA Foundation is offering special events by reservation on both Saturday and Sunday…see them here. Also in Arles, there's a guided tour of the show “Antoine Raspal, from Réattu to St Trophime” on Sunday from 2:30 to 4 pm, celebrating the reinstallation of two monumental paintings by Antoine Raspal in the Saint-Trophime church. The tour is free but register before Friday Sept 20 at 4 pm please: +33 4 90 49 37 58, reattu.reservation@ville-arles.fr

And really, that's just a fraction of the fun stuff you can do during Patrimoine. There's a beach clean up on Corbieres Beach in Marseille, a kayak trip on the canals of Martigue, a treasure hunt for families in Roquebrun-sur-Argens, a horse show in Pertuis, 8 or 17 km runs and a gourmet walk in and around Oppede, a 32-km tandem bike ride around the Mont Ventoux...and much more.

As the Patrimoine weekend gets closer, the organizers will continue to update the clickable nationwide map, which you can see here. It's all a bit clunky but you're smart and you'll figure it out!

And for additional updates, follow the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine on Instagram and on Facebook. 

Vive le Patrimoine de France! 

Photos: Get out there and explore! A few of the thousands of sites hosting Patrimoine events include: (1) The ancient village of Glanum in St. Remy. (2) The Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille. (3) Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles. (4). LUMA Foundation in Arles. (5) The Saint-Trophime Church in Arles, to learn about the career of eminent Arlesian painter Antoine Raspal. (6) Carpentras and other villages of the Vaucluse; join a tandem bike ride here.(7) The Roman Amphitheater in Arles. (8) Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat (info here). (9) The Jardins du Roy René and the Musée du Calisson in Aix. (10) Villa Roche in Nimes. (11) Norman Foster's Ombriere at the Vieux Port in Marseille, on a guided walk from the Ombriere to the MUCEM Museum. (12) The port of L'Estaque in Marseille. (13) The Théâtre Antique in Orange. (14) The Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy. (15) The 6MIC Music Hall in Aix (16) The Chateau d'Aulan in Aulan, 8 km from Montbrun-les-Bains, in the Drome Provencal. (17) The Maison Carrée in Nimes. (18) This year's Patrimoine poster.  

Heritage Days are Sept 21 & 22

It's that time again: The 36th annual Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, in cities and villages all over France. The program was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe (officially it's now called European Heritage Days). This year the theme is "Arts & Entertainment" and 17,000 sites in France are participating, with 26,000 events. It's one the biggest events in France and one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that a wide range of historic monuments, religious sites, estates, gardens,  domaines, workshops, galleries, ateliers, factories and more are open for special visits, including many that are normally closed to the public. Most sites are offering free entry and will have a guide on hand; some are hosting special tours and events (mostly in French). Some may require you to sign up in advance...but for the most part, you just show up. 

The main website is here (or in English here) but you'll fare much better with the department-by-department listings here. Or, check in with the Tourist Office or the tourism website of the village, city or region you want to visit. For example, as of today the department-listings page mentions just six participating sites in my village of St. Remy (in Department #13, the Bouches-du-Rhone) but every year the village publishes its own terrific guide and this year it lists 22 participating sites. You can see them all, with the map, here. If you prefer a printed copy,  you can pick one up at the St. Remy Tourist Office or at most of the participating sites.

Here are programs for Avignon, Aix, Arles, Marseille and Nice. But don't forget about tiny villages, many of which offer fantastic tours, visits and programs as well.  

The best idea is to choose the village you wish to explore, pick up or download their schedule as early as possible and map your route, because some events happen only at certain times. Some villages have events on Friday Sept 20 as well.

To get you started, here are the listings for the six departments of PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur): Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone, the Hautes-Alpes, the Var and the Vaucluse. And here's the Gard (which is not technically in Provence but never mind). For an amazing list of what you can see and do in Paris, click here.

And here's a list of local and regional Tourist Offices in Provence and on the Cote d'Azur, all of whom should have info on their own sites and events.

Vive le Patrimoine de France!

Photos: Get out there and explore! A few of the thousands of sites offering Patrimoine events include The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar (Alsace), The Confectionery Factory Roy René and Museum of Calisson outside Aix, the fantastical houses of Jacques-Emile Lecaron in Clamart, the Théâtre Antique d'Orange, La Cite Radieuse by Le Corbusier in Marseille, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat, the Roman Amphitheatre in Arles, the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy, the Maison du Riz in the Camargue, the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, the Heliport of Paris, The Château Raspail in Gigondas and the Palace of Versailles.  At the bottom, this year's poster.

Brand New in Arles: A Hotel for Art Lovers

Maja Hoffmann and her company Les Maisons d’Arles opened their newest property in Arles today, a 35-room, four-story hotel called L’Arlatan. 

Born in Switzerland and raised in the Camargue, not far from Arles, Hoffmann is a philanthropist, arts patron and founder of the LUMA Foundation and LUMA Arles. They’re the ones building the 56-meter (183-foot) Frank Gehry-designed tower in Arles, set for completion in 2020. The tower is the centerpiece of the Parc des Ateliers, a 20-acre experimental cultural center hosting a wide range of art exhibits and events on the site of a former train maintenance depot, a short walk from the city center. Among the shows currently on view (until January 6): Gilbert & George: The Great Exhibition (1971-2016). For other current and upcoming shows, click here. 

In addition to the Arles hotel Le Cloître and the cafe next door called L’Epicerie, Hoffman owns the Michelin one-star restaurant La Chassagnette in the Camargue. 

Hoffmann’s newest project blends ultra-contemporary, original art with traditional materials and ancient architecture. Parts of the new hotel date to the 12th century and are listed as a Monument Historique. At one time, this was considered the city’s most lavish hôtel particulier (grand townhouse) and it’s built on an ancient Roman basilica, the remains of which are still visible.

Nestled in the historic center of Arles, L’Arlatan is just a few minutes from the Place du Forum, the Church of Saint Trophime and the UNESCO-listed Roman amphitheatre (Les Arènes) and Baths of Constantine.  It’s five minutes from the Rhône River and a 12-minute walk to the Gare d'Arles train station.

Rooms and suites all have antique furniture, satellite TV and free WiFi. Some feature wood-beamed ceilings, exposed stone walls and/or private terraces.

The hotel owes its striking visual appeal to the vision of Cuban-born American artist Jorge Pardo, who turned walls, doors and guestrooms into unique works of art. The almost two million glazed mosaic tiles used for the renovation (in 11 shapes and 18 colors) were all handmade in the Yucatan.  Pardo’s paintings appear on the hotel’s 100-plus doors. For more about the hotel’s art, design and history, see the recent stories in Wallpaper Magazine and the New York Times.

The hotel restaurant, also called L’Arlatan, features “simple and seasonal” Provençal and Mediterranean cuisine. The menu is being created in conjunction with the team at La Chassagnette. 

L’Arlatan has a bar, a terrace and an outdoor pool. Breakfast and parking are available.

Hotel L’Arlatan

26, rue du Sauvage
13200 Arles
France

 +33 (0)4 90 93 56 66

arlatan.com

contact@hotel-arlatan.fr

Photos: The design and decor of Hotel L'Arlatan was inspired by Provence, the Camargue, Mexico and even Japan. Owner Maja Hoffmann says she hopes the hotel will attract artists of all types...and the travelers who love them. At the bottom, the Frank Gehry-designed tower currently rising in Arles...centerpiece of the Parc des Ateliers, a vast "experimental cultural center" celebrating all types of art including photography, publishing and multi-media.

Fall in Provence: Cruising the Rhône

The weather is wonderful in Provence right now: sunny days and cool evenings. In Avignon, a nice thing to do on a warm afternoon is a 60-minute site-seeing cruise on the Rhône that's only 12€ for adults and 2 € for kids age 2-8. When I travel I love to get out on the water, if possible, and there aren't so many ways to do that in my part of Provence. This is a good one: easy to book last minute, super relaxing and cheap!

The 60-minute tour on La Saône sails upstream along the town walls, so you can see the Rocher des Doms and the Pont St Bénezet, the famous Avignon  bridge. Then it heads over so you can discover the Philippe Le Bel Tower of Villeneuve Les Avignon and its historic Fort St André.  

In September, the one-hour cruises are offered at 3 pm and 4:15 pm. Reservations aren't required and tickets can be purchased 15 minutes prior to departure. Cruises run every day, until the end of the month.

A slightly longer "Popes Cruise" leaves at 12:30 and returns at 2:30; it's offered September 28, October 2, October 30, November 8 and December 8.

Full-day luncheon cruises are offered in autumn as well. These include one to Arles (leave at 11:30 am, return at 6:45 pm), one to Tarascon (11:30 to 6:15 pm) and a "Winemakers Cruise" (12/12:30 to 4 pm). There's an afternoon Disco Cruise (with music from the '80s and dancing) and a number of dinner cruises as well. Details about all of them are here. The company operates year round, with a schedule that changes each month. 

To see what's offered each day, see monthly schedules here but be sure to choose your preferred month from the drop-down menu.

Where to park? If you know where the Ferris Wheel is in Avignon, that's a great lot to park in; it's called the Le Parking des Allées de L’Oulle (good luck pronouncing that!). But the Ferris Wheel comes down for the season on September 23 so best to just GPS the parking lot, which is directly in front of the tour boats. Or leave your car wherever it is in town and walk over...the dock is just outside the city walls.

Mireio Croisieres

Le Chardonnay, Le Mireio & La Saône
Allée de l'Oulle 
84000 AVIGNON
Tel +33(0)4 90 85 62 25
Fax +33(0)4 90 85 61 14
mireio.net
contact@mireio.net

Note from Julie: Sometimes people ask if they can pay me to write about them but the answer is no, there's no pay for play on Provence Post! I write about the things I think my readers would most enjoy learning about...that's it.  And I make it a point to not to write about my advertisers, for obvious reasons. But no sooner had I posted this story than Google put an ad on my blog for the very same company, Mireio. Those of you who know about Google Adwords know how it works...they place ads on your site that specifically target who they think your readers are and what they think interests them. So if you see that ad like I do (and you may not), well that's how it got there...twasn't my doing and I'm not promoting an advertiser here. I just enjoy these cruises and thought you might too!